


Uncover

by niamcuddles



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, But no one dies, Fluff, M/M, Pining, Secret Relationship, Smut, its maybe a bit romeo & juliet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-15
Updated: 2018-01-12
Packaged: 2018-12-30 05:56:38
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 18
Words: 187,303
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12102252
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/niamcuddles/pseuds/niamcuddles
Summary: Living in a town as small as Niall's, it's hard keeping anything a secret, especially a crush on the boy he's supposed to hate.(Or where Niall and Liam are secretly dating despite their families having been in a fight for over 20 years)





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Title taken from the song Uncover by Zara Larsson.
> 
> Cover edit by robbieamell.tumblr.com, thank you so much again, i LOVE it <3

 

“What’re you staring at, Nialler?“ Snapping out of his headspace, Niall made sure to blink a few times, shaking his head a little as he pretended to have simply zoned out for a moment. Louis was his best friend, but there were just some things the blonde wouldn’t have wanna told him unless absolutely necessary.

“Nothing. “ Shrugging and trying to pretend to be completely unbothered that his staring had gotten interrupted, Niall made sure to start packing up his bag even though his next class wouldn’t start anytime soon. “Have you already turned in the assignment?”

“Uh… assignment?” Louis asked and it was so fucking typical that Niall would have laughed had he not known that he was going to be the one having to help Louis out in the end.

“The critical analysis thing.” Niall needlessly explained because they both knew the older boy had no bloody idea what he was talking about.

“Right… when’s the deadline again?” Probably thinking he was being unsuspicious, Louis had gotten his phone out, scrolling through it quite quickly though so Niall just sighed.

“Tomorrow midnight. I’ll send you mine when I got home, but… can you at least pretend to change the sentence structures this time?” They had gotten in trouble too many times because of their assignments being too similar, which had been fine because usually they always pretended they had thought it was supposed to be group work, but their professor had explicitly told them to work alone this time.

“I always change the sentence structures, we all have to read the same book, how different can those analyses be?” Though he was rolling his eyes, Louis seemed more relaxed now that Niall had offered to help and the blonde kinda regretted it. “I’ll only be able to write it tomorrow night anyways I think.”

“Why?” No idea why Niall even bothered to ask because he already knew the answer, the answer Louis had given him about 80 billion times during the last few months and you’d think he’d grow tired of Niall asking, but apparently he didn’t.

“I’ll sleep at Harry’s tonight and I don’t know when I’ll get home tomorrow.” There used to be a time when Niall and Louis would spend every single weekend together, pretty much every breathing second actually, but then they had gotten to uni and suddenly there had been Harry, who of course was more important than Niall because he was Louis’ boyfriend. So now Niall usually spent the weekends by himself, which was really just fine and he also wasn’t jealous or anything, he just still hadn’t properly met Harry after months. “Actually… would you mind if he comes with us later when we go get something to eat?”

“Nah, it’s fine, I’ve got something else planned anyways.” Sometimes, Niall caught himself lying to Louis without even planning on doing so and he didn’t even know why. This time though, it was only half a lie, he did have something planned for real, unlike all those times he had only been pretending to be busy when Louis had asked. “Tell him I said hi.”

“Uh, okay?” Louis was understandably confused but Niall didn’t bother adding on to his story because he didn’t want it to sound made up, it wasn’t. Ever since Louis had met Harry, Niall had started to seriously question some things, things he couldn’t really tell Louis and therefore no one for that matter because even though he had other friends, Niall barely hung out with them outside of uni. “You know… I’m sure you’d like him.”

“I like him, I already met him.” Very briefly, usually Niall always left whenever Harry came over on campus, which had multiple reasons. It wasn’t Harry himself, Niall was sure he was nice and all, but things were complicated.

“Okay, so why do you always find an excuse so you don’t have to hang out with us?” Louis half laughed when he asked, but the blonde knew he was being dead serious about this because he had never gotten a clear answer out of the younger boy.

“I don’t find excuses and anyways, you do wanna be alone with him, don’t you? He’s your boyfriend and everything.” Niall wasn’t jealous, he really wasn’t, like… maybe he had been in the beginning, but this actually had very little to do with Louis.

“We’re alone all the time anyways, you’re my best friend, I wouldn’t at all mind if you hang out with us.” Maybe that was true, but Niall still didn’t wanna feel like a third wheel and then there was the other, much bigger, problem as to why he was trying to avoid Harry as much as possible. “When did you even wanna tell me that you already had something planned later?”

“I don’t know, I kinda forgot we were gonna go eat something if I’m being honest.” Or maybe not, but how was Louis gonna know?

“Okay, so… is that not our thing anymore on Friday’s, or… ?” Okay, he was getting pissed off, Niall could tell but he also didn’t know what to tell the older boy anyways so he just shrugged, finishing packing his bag because he actually didn’t even know what to say at this point. “Are you pissed at me or something? Like… you’re acting real fucking weird, is it because of Harry?”

“I’m not pissed off, Lou, I’ve just got something else planned, okay?” Niall tried a smile, which obviously only seemed to confuse Louis more so the blonde had to go even further. “I’m sorry, we can go next week.”

“Yeah, that’s fine, I just… don’t want you to be mad or something.” Now Louis sounded genuinely concerned as he watched Niall getting up and the blonde made sure to walk around the table just to lean down and give his friend a brief hug. He was afraid that if this conversation carried on they’d start talking about other topics that were even harder for Niall to talk about.

“I’m not mad, promise. I’ll text you later.” Or maybe Niall would just wait for Louis to text him first like always. “Have fun with Harry.”

“Thanks, uh… talk to you later then?” Clearly, he was still confused but the blonde decided to ignore that as he slung his bag over one shoulder, already walking away from his friend a moment later even though he still had time until his class would start.

It wasn’t a particularly big university or campus, and though Niall didn’t know everyone of course, he knew most people from just seeing them around. Sadly, that also meant he saw his brother around a lot as well and his friends and luckily they mostly ignored each other now, but they used to have gotten into fights when they had gone to the same middle and high schools. Everyone knowing what everyone was doing in a town as small as this one was another one of Niall’s problems, which he hadn’t mentioned to Louis though and maybe never would.

Niall only had two more classes before he would be able to go home for the weekend, but the thing was, he genuinely hadn’t lied to Louis about having something else planned, something he did rather frequently even though it was stupid and wrong and no one could ever know the reason. The blonde wasn’t surprised at all when Louis texted him pretty much 10 minutes after they had said goodbye, again trying to get him to change his mind which stayed their topic for the next three hours.

After his last class, Niall tried his hardest to move as slowly as humanly possible, thinking about an excuse as usual just in case anybody was going to ask him why on earth he was walking over to the sports field just to watch the football team train at least once a week. It’s not that Niall was the only one who did it or who just sat in the stands doing something else, but he was probably still the only one to come for the reason he did.

Or maybe he wasn’t, because thinking about it, it actually wasn’t so unlikely that other people came just to stare at one single person on the team while trying to pretend they were just getting some reading done.

The reason Niall came was called Liam Payne and he was the captain of the football team and probably one of the most liked and celebrated people on the entire campus. Furthermore, Niall had never spoken a single word to him or looked him in the eyes and he had also never considered liking guys until he had properly seen Liam for the first time when they had both been freshmen two years ago.

Ever since then, Niall had struggled coming to terms with his crush, had never told anybody, not even Louis, about it. Even IF Niall had been fully comfortable crushing on a guy and obsessively checking all his social media every day, watching him train and staring at him on campus, he wouldn’t have been able to talk to Liam or even just try to be his friend.

Of course it was a further problem that Liam was the star football player of the university, but not as much as the reason why Niall had heard alarm bells going off in his head upon learning who Liam actually was when he had heard his last name in a class they had had together in their first semester.

Not only was Niall’s family somewhat conservative and strict and his brother an asshole, but they had also been pretty poor when Niall had been born and still kinda were. At some point, they had barely been able to afford food and the child protective services had come over more than once which the blonde could barely remember now though. Niall’s dad had been without a job for quite some time, years more like, after he and his business partner had gotten into a huge fight, which had ended not only with Niall’s dad being unemployed and his reputation being ruined, but also with his business partner becoming rich and successful, adding to the fuel between them.

Problem was, that business partner was none other than Liam’s dad and needless to say, Niall would have been hanged saying the word Payne at home. Unless he would have wanted to curse them of course. Niall understood his family being angry at Liam’s dad, but then again, the blonde had no idea what had really happened back then and it certainly had nothing to do with Liam because they were about the same age and hadn’t even been born.

Still, Niall felt a pinch of guilt whenever he caught himself staring at Liam, much like today, but that was quickly forgotten whenever he watched the other boy play football or laugh or hang out with his friends because even though nothing would ever come out of it, Niall was still allowed to stare and fantasize about Liam, right?

 

\------------------------

 

Whenever Niall had work on Saturday’s, his whole weekend was pretty much ruined because they always gave him the late shift at the restaurant and he’d only get home by like 2 in the morning, feeling as if he had just been standing for 12 hours straight. It had usually only been 8, but working as a waiter was bloody exhausting even after Niall had been doing it for years now. Times like these, Niall was so jealous of Louis and his stupidly perfect relationship and family who loved him that he didn’t even wanna text the older boy back.

It was a busy evening and then night, as usual with kids screaming and throwing food, people calling Niall incompetent and all sorts of other things. He did usually get a lot of tip though, so that was maybe the biggest reason why Niall hadn’t tried looking for something else, but maybe also because he wasn’t sure if anybody else would wanna employ him anyways.

“Niall, can you maybe take table 24? It’s like… 5 guys and I think they’re a bit drunk.” Niall’s coworkers were nice, but they all knew Niall couldn’t say no whenever they asked him for a favor, especially if it was one of the girls and if it was because of something like this.

“Um, sure.” Pretending that he himself didn’t get nervous serving guys his age who already had had something to drink, the blonde took a quiet breath before making his way through the restaurant, almost stumbling over 2 kids who apparently didn’t have to go to bed at 11 pm and having to take a complaint from somebody else on the way.

By the time Niall got to the table, he was honestly expecting the very worst, like, somebody already puking on the table or something, but as he arrived, they all looked pretty sober and also… terribly familiar.

For just a second, Niall almost forgot he was at work and not at uni having walked up to the wrong table in the cafeteria and he wanted to turn around, just leave and ask someone else to take that damned table that apparently nobody wanted for different reasons. Niall’s heart was beating fast as he met Harry’s eyes, somehow still glad about him being here though because if he hadn’t, Niall would have probably just been staring at the boy sitting next to Harry.

Reason number one why Niall was trying to avoid Harry as much as possible, he was one of Liam’s best friends. Although, maybe not BEST friend, because Niall was pretty sure that at least Louis didn’t know Liam because then he would have surely asked Niall about the stupid fight their families were in and along with it about the blonde’s crush.

“Um, hi, what can I-“

“Oh, Niall? Didn’t know you worked here.” Harry seemed genuinely surprised but he also smiled, of course bringing his friends’ attention on Niall as well while the blonde almost broke his pen trying not to look at Liam. Never ever had they been this close and it was probably also the first time that Liam had ever looked at him as well and oh god, Niall was going to die.

“Yeah, I… I do.” Niall probably sounded like an idiot, so he pretended to clear his throat, just wanting to get it over with. Liam or his friends had never been in here before, or at least never during Niall’s shifts and the thought of them coming back more frequently was both scaring the hell out of the blonde but also getting him strangely excited. “Did you already, uh, have a look, or… “

They all ordered one after the other, none of them appearing to be drunk at all but Niall could barely pay any attention because the very last person having to order was Liam and the blonde’s heart pretty much stopped when their eyes met for the split of a second. Of course he had heard Liam’s voice before, but never directed at him and while looking like a fucking Greek god.

“I’ll just get the same as my friend. Thanks.” He briefly pointed towards Harry with his thumb and Niall almost forgot to nod as he probably only wrote down nonsense on his notepad because he actually wouldn’t have even had to write anything at all with them getting the same thing.

After that, Niall just awkwardly started to walk away, a bit faster when he heard one of them asking Harry about how they knew each other because he definitely did not want to hear the answer. He knew Harry wasn’t saying anything bad about him, that he was probably really nice and all, but the whole situation was just so messed up that Niall could barely stand thinking about it. Also, the fact that Louis was probably a lot closer to meeting Liam than the blonde had realized wasn’t really helping either.

He had known that Harry and Liam were good friends, but… he hadn’t known they were ‘Saturday night let’s go get dinner together’ friends. Just like that, things had gotten like 10 times more complicated than they had already been.

Did Liam even know who Niall was? Or did he simply ignore his family’s existence? Honestly, Niall wasn’t even sure which one he would have preferred, for Liam to actually despise him in secret or for him to simply care so little that he wouldn’t have ever spent a single thought on him. Maybe the second, actually, because at least then his feelings would have been neutral, right? And it’s not like they would have ever become friendly anyways.

Niall was so nervous after that encounter, he almost messed up two other orders, dreading the moment when he would have to go back to that table. Fuck, why did Liam come here with his friends anyways? It was a rather cheap place and the blonde was pretty sure Liam’s family had more than enough money to eat at posh places and stuff. Then again… fuck, Niall had never talked to Liam before and as pathetic as it sounded, that was surely the highlight of his month. Or maybe even his year.

Since it was so busy, each order took a bit longer and once Niall finally returned with the food after already having made a fool of himself a few minutes ago mixing up the drinks, he actually managed to fucking have a French fry drop onto Liam’s lap. “Oh my god… sorry, I didn’t-“

“It’s fine, don’t worry.” Liam simply shrugged, eating the fry anyways but Niall was pretty sure his face had never been this blotchy and red and gross looking. He needed to go, right at this second.

Without looking anybody in the face, especially not Liam or Harry, Niall made sure to walk away again as quickly as possible, not saying the usual things he normally would because he honestly didn’t care if those guys needed something or not. Surely, they’d be better off not getting it at all instead of having Niall spilling it on their laps.

Needless to say, it was a really long two more hours. Niall avoided the table as much as possible, so much in fact that another one of his coworkers noticed and the blonde was finally forced to go back, keeping his head down while internally praying that Harry wouldn’t find any of this noteworthy enough to tell his boyfriend. Who was Niall kidding though?

Shortly before the place closed down, Niall was forced to go back so they could pay and before he could have asked whether they wanted to split the bill or something, Liam had already gotten out his credit card and the blonde was dying inside. “I’ll pay for everything.”

“Um… okay.” Right, out of all the weird things that had happened, holding Liam’s fucking credit card with his name imprinted on the front was on the number one spot. Niall almost dropped that as well because his heart was beating so damn fast he could actually hear the blood rushing in his ears.

Actually, Niall never considered whether Liam was going to give him any tip or not, but he did after having paid, making it seem like nothing special of course but his fingers brushed Niall’s hand for like 0.2 seconds and the blonde kinda forgot to thank him because he was so fucking flashed by what was happening. Okay, if Liam hadn’t hated him already, he surely hated him now thinking Niall was being really rude or something.

“How long do you still have work for?” It was Harry who asked for whatever reason, right before they left and Niall had still been busy getting their empty glasses while paying the minimum amount of attention. Liam had fucking touched his hand, only shortly and on pure accident but… that didn’t change the fact that he had still done it.

“Um… 10 minutes or so.” Luckily Niall didn’t have to stay longer today to help preparing for the next day and those guys had pretty much been the last people who he had been serving, but in all honesty… tonight he wouldn’t have even cared.

“How are you getting home?” Okay what the hell? Why did Harry care about that, they barely even knew each other?

“The bus?” Niall made it sound like a question because he was a bit overwhelmed with this whole situation and while being hyper aware of Liam still being so close, putting on his jacket and fuck, why was he so good looking?

“I can wait for you and drive you if you want, the others can go with Liam.” _What?!_

“I, um… I’m good, I… I always take the bus.” What was Harry’s deal, honestly? Was that the real reason why Louis always wanted Niall to hang out with them? Because Harry was really desperate to be nice to Niall or whatever? Or maybe he felt guilty for spending so much time with Louis? But that was ridiculous, they were all grown ups. “Thanks though… “

“Okay, well… see you around.” Harry smiled and the blonde tried to return it before he made sure to walk away without having thrown another look at Liam, as much as he had wanted to.

After like a minute, Niall had already forgotten about Harry because all he could think about was how he had spent the last two years staring at Liam from a distance and then within two hours they had literally spoken and looked at each other AND Liam had accidentally touched him. Not like Niall was going to get anything out of it, but it would still be everything he’d be thinking about for the next few weeks probably.

Niall took way longer than usually changing his shirt and getting his bag and everything, but it’s not like it mattered because he always had to wait ages for the bus anyways. Of course there were a ton of messages from Louis that Niall briefly scrolled through without actually opening them because he wasn’t quite sure if he’d manage to have a normal conversation now after everything that had happened.

While walking out of the restaurant and looking for his headphones in his bag, Niall wasn’t paying a lot of attention to his surroundings, still lost in thoughts while actually considering never washing his hand again or spend those five pounds Liam had given him. So of course, he flinched terribly upon somebody saying his name.

“Niall.” It was Harry, AGAIN, but on his own this time and the blonde almost dropped his phone upon seeing him, like… had he actually waited for him? Why would he do that?

“Um… hi.” Niall slowed to a stop, not knowing what was going on because he had always kinda assumed Harry had no real interest in spending any time with him either, which had been really convenient for the blonde, but apparently… that wasn’t even the case.

“Sorry, didn’t wanna scare you. I just saw the bus will take like half an hour to get here and Liam drove the others so I thought maybe you’d change your mind.” Okay, this was like, a little bit creepy? Why was Harry so keen on getting Niall into his car and was Niall paranoid for actually questioning his motives?

“Uh… you really didn’t have to wait.” Was all the blonde said instead of immediately saying no because he had no bloody idea how to make Harry believe that he enjoyed sitting at the bus stop until 1.40 am.

“It’s fine, don’t worry, you’re Lou’s best friend and we’ve never properly talked to each other, so I thought… the least I could do was drive you home when I gotta go that direction anyways.” He knew where Niall lived?! “But you don’t have to, obviously.”

“No, I, um… thanks.” How could Niall have said no, honestly? Especially while Louis probably knew about this already and the blonde really didn’t wanna have to explain himself to his best friend tomorrow morning. “But only if… if it’s really no trouble, I-“

“Not at all, I wouldn’t have asked otherwise.” Somehow Harry seemed terribly happy about that decision and Niall was really weirded out by it but he tried to put a somewhat neutral expression on his face as he followed the other boy across the parking lot.

Niall had already seen Harry’s car before, it was kinda old and rusty, which was completely fine of course because barely anyone Niall knew owned a car. Well… Liam had a really fucking expensive car, but Niall didn’t officially know him and he had only seen his car because the parking lot at their university wasn’t very big and Liam’s really stood out. Just like he himself did.

“So… how often do you work here?” Okay, Harry seemed to be the kind of person to ask unnecessary questions in order to make small talk, but Niall didn’t really mind right now, he was still busy thinking about everything that had happened tonight. They were in Harry’s car now and the other boy was pulling out of his parking space while the blonde was still busy ignoring his phone because he didn’t know what to tell Louis.

“Two times a week usually, sometimes a bit more often if I have time.” Or if he needed money, but why would he tell Harry that? Sure, it would have been uncomfortable not to have a conversation while Harry was driving, but then again, it wasn’t very far anyways. “Um, I live in-“

“Yeah, yeah, I know, Louis told me.” Okay… so what had Louis NOT told his boyfriend? “I mean, this sounds super creepy, we just drove past your house once so he told me.”

“Oh, okay… “ What else was Niall supposed to say? He could barely focus on anything, he was actually seconds from asking Harry about Liam, which he really couldn’t do because he didn’t want anyone to find out about the feud between their families. Or… or maybe he aleady knew? What would Niall know about that, right? “Louis said that… that you work at some bakery?”

“Yeah, I do, usually before uni, but not every day because it gets really tiring getting up at 4 in the morning.” Harry laughed and Niall didn’t try to join but he managed a smile before looking back out the window, trying to remember the last time he had actually sat in a car. “Actually, I was gonna ask you a question.“

“Um, okay?” Niall had no idea what Harry was planning on asking, he was just hoping it wasn’t about Niall hanging out with him and Louis or something.

“I was just wondering, before in the restaurant, like… do you know Liam or something?” Oh…. God…

“I… N-No?” Fuck, Niall’s heart was beating so fast again all of a sudden and his hands were getting sweaty and thank god it was kinda dark in the car and Harry had to focus on the street. “Why… why would you, uh, think that?”

“I don’t know, just seemed like you knew each other or something and as if you were a bit nervous… that wasn’t because of me though, was it?” Now Harry sounded worried and Niall genuinely wondered if he should have maybe just told Harry it had been him so the questions about Liam would stop.

“No… I was just, like… surprised to see you is all… “ That wasn’t a lie now, was it?

“Okay, good. I know that… you know, maybe it’s kinda weird, because I know how long you’ve known Louis for and me and you have never really had much to do with each other, but it’d really be cool if we all hung out once a while.” Right, this was what Niall had been afraid of, he didn’t wanna like Harry or be friends with him, it’d all just be super weird. “Unless you don’t want to, that’s of course fine as well.”

“Yeah, I, um… I mean… I was really busy with uni and work and… “ And with Liam, but that was a whole other topic. “But we… we can do that… sometime… “

“Okay, great.” Harry sounded genuinely happy about that, he threw a smile into Niall’s direction that the blonde barely caught, already somehow regretting his answer a bit. Then again… maybe this had been bound to happen, right?

Harry stopped the car in front of Niall’s house a few minutes later and the blonde made sure to thank him as he grabbed a hold of his bag and opened the car door, about to climb out of the vehicle when the other boy stopped him all of a sudden.

“Actually… I know Louis was gonna ask you anyways, but I’m having a party at my place next Friday, so… I’d be happy if you wanna come.” He seemed to genuinely mean it, which made all of this even more difficult for Niall, so he simply nodded before fully getting out of the car, throwing the door shut before Harry was able to invite him to any more events.

The blonde’s head was spinning a bit when he finally got home, trying to be as quiet as possible because his parents would have killed him if he had woken them in the middle of the night. Niall went straight to his room, changing his clothes because showering would have been way too loud and even brushing his teeth with walls that thin was pushing the limit.

Niall really tried to purposely not think about Liam anymore while getting ready for bed even though it was kinda incredibly hard. By the time the blonde was finally in bed he decided to at least send Louis an answer to his last text message because he already felt somewhat bad for ignoring him for this long.

 

_Louis 01:16 am  
Omg can you let harry drive you home so you guys can finally get to know each other_

 

Of course Harry had told Louis he was waiting for Niall to come outside, the blonde had to actually resist rolling his eyes to himself as he briefly texted back, at the same time feeling a bit bad about this whole situation. Maybe he really should have tried harder, but then again, this was Louis’ relationship and it had nothing to do with Niall.

 

_To Louis 01:35 am  
He’s alright I guess. Did you manage to hand in the assignment on time?_

 

There was no need to go into detail because the blonde was 100% convinced that Harry was going to talk to Louis on the phone as soon as he got home, so he rather spent his time with his favorite activity ever, checking all of Liam’s social media before going to bed. Maybe it was really stupid, for Niall to be happy about Liam instagramming the food he had eaten before, but it felt oddly exciting to know that he had touched the plate before.

Niall did feel a bit pathetic when he finally put away his phone an hour later, after having a non-planned discussion with Louis about this stupid party and Liam Payne posting a bed selfie, but the blonde was so tired by that point that he managed to fall asleep without too much worrying.

 

\----------------

 

“You have to come though, I already told Harry you’d come.” Louis was being a real pain in the arse about this whole party thing, not having stopped talking about it for almost a week now and the more he mentioned it, the less did Niall wanna go.

“You told him I’d come before you ever even asked me.” Not that Niall had any proof, but he knew Louis better than the back of his own hand. “Besides, it’s not like there aren’t gonna be enough people, you don’t even need me there.”

“It’s not about me _needing_ you, I just want you and Harry to get along.” They did get along though, all week Niall had been forced to interact with Harry on campus because apparently getting into his car had made them official friends or something. “Also… you never go to any parties.”

“So?” It was true, but that was more because Niall never really got invited anywhere. He and Louis used to go out with their other friends when Harry hadn’t existed, but… “I don’t even like parties.”

“Okay, fine then… can you just do me the favor then? Please? Just _one_ time, Nialler.” Now Louis was begging, which was ridiculous because it was Friday night and Niall had been lying in bed thinking about watching a movie when his friend had called just to whine.

“I don’t even know where Harry lives.” And Louis was already on his way there so they couldn’t go together anymore, right?

“I can come pick you up and we just go together, it’s fine if we’re a bit late, there’s already a ton of people there anyways.” Fuck. “Please? C’mon, I’ll be at your house in 15 minutes, okay?”

“I… gotta help my mom with something, I-“

“Your mom isn’t even home, nice try.” Both of Niall’s parents usually worked really late, especially his mother because she had two jobs which of course had always left Niall pretty much to himself even when he had been a child. To be honest though, he wasn’t sure if he had ever really enjoyed all the freedom because with it had also come loneliness. “See you in 15 minutes.”

“Lou-“

The older boy had simply hung up on Niall and the blonde cursed him under his breath as he dropped his phone on the mattress, forcing himself to get up out of bed to change his clothes. The thing was, Niall was almost 100% sure that Liam was going to be at this party and even though he made time to watch him play football, he didn’t necessarily wanna be at the same party as him. One, he wasn’t gonna be able to stare at him anyways and two, he was very well aware that Liam had a lot of admirers that seemed to be getting a lot more confident when they were drunk, so three, seeing Liam make out with people wasn’t really Niall’s idea of a good Friday night.

Now that Louis was gonna come over though the blonde didn’t have much choice anymore, so he put on some decent clothes and did his hair for like 5 minutes before his friend already texted him that he was outside. Of course Niall’s family knew Louis, but he couldn’t be mad at the older boy for trying to avoid them as much as possible.

“Dad, I’m going out.” The blonde called out as he walked down the stairs while putting on his jacket, extra slowly because Louis wasn’t gonna die from waiting a bit longer, was he?

“Take your keys.” Was all his father replied from somewhere in the living room and Niall spared himself an answer because if he hadn’t taken his keys, he simply wouldn’t have gotten back inside the house.

It was about 9 pm or something and already dark, which wasn’t really all that convenient because Niall had no idea how to get back home and he couldn’t afford a taxi so that was going to be a problem if he forgot the way. Maybe Niall should have also put more thoughts on his appearance but it’s not like it mattered, right?

“Just know I hate you for this.” Was the first thing Niall said after walking out of the front door and finding Louis sitting on the porch steps, not really looking like he had spent a lot of time picking out his clothes either so that was good.

“Why? You said you like Harry.” Louis was making fun of him now, still pulling Niall into a half hearted hug that the blonde didn’t return because he was pretending to be pissed off. Truth was, he was actually kinda terrified. “And he likes you too by the way.”

“Wow, thanks, I was so afraid he wouldn’t.” Of course it was sarcasm, Louis snorted next to the blonde but Niall didn’t bother turning his head while they were walking down his street. “How far away is it then?”

“A few bus stations, not that far.” Considering how tiny this town was, a few bus stations could mean anything, but Niall refrained from sighing out loud. Louis hadn’t dragged him out of the house after all and maybe, just maybe, Niall did wanna go to the party a little bit. “Harry will be really glad you came, he actually… you know, he thought you really hated him for a while.”

“Why would I hate him? We never really spoke.” God, Harry really was obsessed with being Niall’s friend, wasn’t he? “Why’s he want us to get along so badly anyways?”

“I think he feels bad because…. because he knows how long we’ve known each other and that we… that we spent a lot more time together before I met him.” Now Louis sounded guilty as well and Niall tried to ignore that because he wasn’t in the mood for a sentimental conversation. “But also, he does genuinely like you and he wants you guys to get along because you know… I guess… me and Harry will stay together.”

“You wanna marry him or something?” Though Niall made it sound like a joke, he actually panicked quite a bit inside because they hadn’t even been together for THAT long and now Louis was already thinking about forever?

“I don’t know, not for a few years, but like… I never met anyone like him.” Louis had been in a few relationships before, which had all been a whole lot more serious than Niall’s and it’s not like Niall had never had a longer lasting one, but that was already years in the past.

For a moment, Niall tried to think of answer but then he stayed quiet because it actually didn’t matter what he thought about all of this, if Louis was happy then that was fine and there was no need to add on to it. It was clear for everyone to see that they got along well and maybe Niall would really have to try and just accept the fact that the times where he and Louis had both been single and done whatever they wanted were long over.

Louis held true to his word, Harry’s house really wasn’t that far away and Niall was kinda really relieved once they arrived and he saw how many people there were. Honestly, he hadn’t known Harry was that popular at uni but then again, he was friends with Liam so of course that sort of made him someone as well.

Niall was half afraid that his brother was here, or any of his friends, but then again, it’s not like they would have come up to the blonde anyways. So Niall stayed with Harry and Louis for a while before talking to some people he knew from various classes once the other two started making out and then seemed to disappear altogether. Honestly, what was the point though in getting angry about that?

The blonde had maybe been here for two hours, not having seen Liam and having had only one beer that he couldn’t feel whatsoever, when he already thought about leaving again because it actually seemed like every single person here was drunk. If he left now then maybe he would still catch the last bus and would spare himself walking for at least 45 minutes or maybe even longer because he wasn’t quite sure anymore where he actually was.

Walking out of the front door which no one seemed to have bothered closing anymore after a while, Niall could still hear the music and voices from inside, which actually made him wonder whether the police was going to show up here any second. There was some guy loudly throwing up in the bushes next to the porch, so Niall made sure not to look, pulling up Google maps on his phone instead to maybe get home a bit more quickly.

“Hey, um, Niall?” Upon hearing his name, Niall almost got annoyed, thinking it was Harry or Louis asking him to stay with sad puppy eyes, but as he stopped and turn around, Niall’s mouth simply dropped open as he stared right into Liam’s face. “This is super weird, but… can I maybe borrow your phone?”

“I… “ Niall didn’t know what to say, he wasn’t even sure if he could have said anything if he had wanted to. Apparently the guy throwing up in the bushes was Liam’s friend and… wait, Liam knew his name?! He knew Niall’s fucking name and he wanted to… have his phone?!

“Mine’s out of battery and, uh… my friend puked on his and I gotta call him a taxi, so… “ What?!

“I… okay… “ The blonde still hadn’t managed to blink just once, he mindlessly handed his already unlocked phone to Liam, who had just spoken to him randomly for the second time ever, looking as if he had walked straight out of a photoshoot and he could have asked the blonde for anything right now. Was this really happening?

“Thanks.” When Liam smiled, even if just barely, the whole world seemed to stop and Niall was just staring at this point, watching the brunette talking on HIS phone without even understanding a single word. Actually, when Liam tried handing the phone back to him, Niall didn’t even manage to react immediately. “Thank you, really. Would it, like… be a problem if you waited for a moment until it gets here? The guy said he’d call again and… I’m kinda scared he’ll never show up or something.”

“No… I mean… I can… wait.” Okay, Niall sounded like he didn’t know how to talk coherently all of a sudden, it’s just… what?!

“Thanks.” Then he smiled _again_ before leaning down to rub his friends back who was now just groaning, looking completely out of it but at least he had stopped throwing up. Not like Niall would have still been disgusted now because he could barely think straight anymore, just mindlessly staring at Liam while standing there like a fucking idiot.

How exactly had this happened? And… why was Liam talking to him like they knew each other and stuff? Did he know who Niall was after all? And if he did then why was he being so calm about this whole situation and just randomly asking Niall for his phone? Then again, barely anyone else was outside and they were all drunk and Liam had seemed desperate to call for a taxi, but…

So they waited, for about ten minutes before the taxi driver called again and Niall wordlessly handed the phone back to Liam, who hadn’t really looked or talked to him during the last few minutes. This was just feeling surreal, Niall couldn’t actually believe he was really here right now and that Liam’s fingers were brushing his hand again as he handed back the phone once more.

“Thanks again.” Niall didn’t just leave, he actually watched Liam trying to help his friend get to his feet once the taxi stopped in front of the house and though Liam surely had muscles, he still struggled.

No idea what Niall was thinking, but he somehow automatically rushed to help the brunette, all of this feeling more like a movie than real life. Liam seemed rather thankful for the help and they managed to get his very drunken friend into the back before Liam talked to the driver, who didn’t seem very happy about taking a completely smashed guy home, but Niall was pretty sure he saw Liam handing over quite a bit of money.

“Are you not… going with him?” For some reason, Niall found the strength to speak up as soon as the taxi had driven off, a part of him knowing that he really should have left, that it was none of his damn business, but another part of him didn’t want this moment to end because it still didn’t feel real.

“No, I came with my dad’s car, so… “ Okay, so he had to drive it home and he couldn’t risk anybody throwing up inside, sounded pretty logical but Niall had no idea why he had even asked.

“Okay, uh… I gotta go.” Niall awkwardly nodded before simply turning around, possibly walking into the wrong direction, for about three steps when he realized that Liam was following him.

“I parked the car down the street.” The brunette explained with half a laugh when he noticed Niall looking at him over his shoulder and the blonde felt himself blushing as they somehow ended up walking next to each other, Niall’s heart beating so bloody fast he was afraid he was gonna hyperventilate.

None of them said a word for a moment and Niall somehow wished Liam would find the car soon but then he suddenly also wished that he’d never find it just so they could keep on walking next to each other. This was never going to happen again, just because they had talked this one time didn’t mean they ever would again, in a few minutes it’d be like none of this had ever happened and Niall was already feeling upset about that.

“So… thanks again.” Liam stopped all of a sudden, next to a pretty posh car and Niall slowed down a bit as he nodded, actually questioning now why Liam was already leaving the party to go home. Also, had he ever even gone inside?

“No problem.” The blonde tried to return the smile but it just felt really fake so he made sure to quickly keep on walking, hands buried in his jeans pockets, knowing he should have probably checked Google maps again, but he could do that once he had walked around that corner. Which he never actually did.

“Wait.” The brunette seemed to have not moved one centimeter as he called out and the blonde was more than confused as he stopped and turned back around. He could only see Liam in a poorly lit street light, but it still looked like he was having an inner conflict or something. “Do you like… need a ride?”

“I… what?“ No way, he was asking NIALL to sit in his dad’s car so he could… drive him home?!

“I mean… no offence, but do you know how to get home from here?” Was he mocking the blonde now?

“Yes…?” Or actually, no.

“Really? Because the bus stop is in the other direction.” The corners of Liam’s mouth actually twitched if Niall wasn’t mistaken and he wondered whether he had really heard Liam asking him if he needed a ride or not. “I can drive you though… if it’s not too weird. But you helped me out so I guess it’s the least I can do.”

Okay, but why did everyone suddenly wanna drive Niall home? First Harry and now… now Liam. Fuck, Niall knew this was so wrong and he knew that maybe Liam was just messing with him or something because there was just NO bloody way, but he couldn’t say no because he’d forever hate himself. “It’s… it’s not… weird.”

“Okay then.” Liam simply unlocked the car, going for the driver’s side and Niall stood there for another moment, just frozen on the spot before forcing himself to walk up to the passenger side, not knowing what to think or how to feel. He was getting into the same car with his bloody crush of two years who had never spoken to him before last week and now he was offering to drive him home. This was just too much. “Where do you live?”

Niall had barely gotten into the car, of course almost falling over as he tried to buckle himself in before telling Liam his address, kinda choking it out but he was just glad that he had remembered where he lived at all. The car even SMELLED expensive, or maybe that was just Liam or something because he surely smelled amazing as well whenever he moved the air.

“Alright… “ The brunette seemed to be talking to himself, for a moment actually about to enter the address into the GPS of the car before he suddenly hesitated, getting his phone out instead. “That would have been a long walk.”

“Um… I don’t know.” Niall answered truthfully, he actually doubted whether he would have ever gotten home at all, so…

This was so weird, like, maybe the weirdest thing that had ever happened to Niall in his entire life. He had a really hard time keeping his eyes off of Liam as the boy started the car, looking all confident and not at all as if he regretted having offered to drive Niall home. So did that mean that he didn’t actually hate the blonde? Or what if… what if he didn’t actually know who Niall was? Maybe he had just known his name because of when they had seen each other at the restaurant or something, maybe-

“So, you’re a friend of Harry, right?” Liam had barely kept a moment of silence between them but Niall had still managed to zone out for a second, his hand clenched around his phone and his heart beat actually distracting him from focusing on the conversation.

“I… I guess.” Niall wasn’t really sure and for some reason, it made Liam laugh momentarily. “He, uh… I only know him because of my best friend, he’s, um… Harry’s boyfriend.”

“Ah, right, Harry told me. The short one? This really is a small town.” Okay, what was that supposed to mean and why was Liam so bloody amused by all of this? “So you’re not actually Harry’s friend and you were just at the party to be nice?”

“Why… why would you think that?” What did Liam know? Even if he was right, then… he didn’t even know Niall or Louis and apparently, he also didn’t know Harry all that well.

“Because you left really early and you aren’t even a little bit drunk.” This was ridiculous, the fact that they were having this conversation, the two of them, in _Liam’s dad’s_ car?

“You left really early as well and… you aren’t drunk.” To be fair, Liam had obviously had the intention of driving back home.

“Oh, I never went to the party, I just came because my friend that was puking in the bushes called me.” Wait… so Liam had jumped into a car in the middle of the night just to help out his friend who had gotten smashed at somebody’s party? Damn… so he was actually truly nice? “I would have driven him home, but I couldn’t find my car keys and if he pukes in my dad’s car… I wouldn’t ever be driving anybody again.”

“Right…” That bit sounded familiar, besides the fact that Niall didn’t even have a driver’s license and if he had had one, he surely wouldn’t have been allowed to ever borrow his parents’ car. “But… you’re friends with Harry, right?”

“’course. But I really had to work on something for uni tonight, so.” Liam shrugged a bit, which somehow reminded Niall to draw his eyes away from him as he desperately tried to calm himself down about all of this. They were talking to each other as if they were classmates at uni or something and Niall was actually quite surprised by how well he was doing talking to Liam all calmly and stuff. Well, not completely calmly of course, but he wasn’t stuttering or simply keeping quiet.

Neither of them spoke a word for a few minutes and Liam actually took a wrong turn but the blonde didn’t say anything, which kinda made him feel bad but then again, he could just pretend that he hadn’t recognized anything in the middle of the night. He didn’t want them to arrive at his house, didn’t want to get out of this car and for all of this to just go away or for Liam to start pretending again that he didn’t know Niall.

“You ever thought about joining the football team?” Liam asked as if he had just randomly thought about that and Niall almost dropped his phone.

“Um, no?” He certainly didn’t look like he was good at any sports, did he? He and Louis used to go to the gym last year but that had basically been it. “Why?”

“Just seen you on the stands a lot is all.” Oh fucking hell. “I thought maybe you wanted to try out for the team or something.”

“I… I just, uh… I like… sitting there.” And stare at Liam being all sweaty and blushed and… wait, he had actually noticed Niall being there all the time?! Great, now the blonde certainly couldn’t do that anymore either. “I’m not good at football.”

“Well, if you ever do wanna try out for the team then it’s a smart idea to let the captain drive you home.” It was clearly a joke, Liam laughed at himself and Niall joined for a second just because the other’s laugh was so contagious and holy shit, he never wanted to get out of this car again. “Nah, I’m kidding, but seriously… there’ll be a lot of free spaces next year, so if you change your mind… “

“I… I don’t know… “ Niall couldn’t, even if football had been his passion or something, because being on the bloody football team with Liam, constantly being around him and yet not actually being allowed to really talk to him and stuff because anybody could have seen would have been pretty stupid. Sure, Niall’s brother wouldn’t be at this uni anymore next year when Niall was a senior but… this was a small town and the fact that Liam seemed to think that it would be a good idea for them to be on the same team kinda worried the blonde that maybe Liam didn’t actually know who Niall was.

“’s fine if you don’t want to, I actually didn’t want to either, but my parents thought it’s important to do clubs and shit.” The complete opposite of Niall’s parents then, they actually hadn’t wanted Niall and his brother to go to uni at all. “But you’re probably really busy already working at that restaurant and stuff.”

“It’s… two times a week, so it’s alright.” Also Niall really needed the money so it wasn’t really a matter of being stressed out or not. “Sorry again for… the fries.”

“Don’t worry about it, they still tasted good.” Again, Liam let out a laugh and Niall couldn’t actually believe that he had made the brunette laugh so many times already. All of this felt more like a dream. A really, really good one though.

“Do you also have a job?” Niall just blurted out with it without really thinking about it, but Liam didn’t at all seem like he was trying to keep secrets or didn’t like any questions that were a bit more personal.

“I do, kind of, but… I work for my dad, sometimes… sort of.” Okay, this topic didn’t seem to be Liam’s favorite one and Niall could only guess why because he still didn’t even know whether Liam knew who he was. What if he actually didn’t and then he found out and would get angry at Niall or really start hating him? “Is that your street?”

“Yeah, you… you passed it.” Liam hadn’t waited for an answer, he had basically just driven past and Niall was really confused until the other boy suddenly stopped the car around the corner from the blonde’s street. Turning his head to look at him, Niall was even more confused to see Liam’s face looking kind of… apologetic?

“Is it fine if you walk home from here? I don’t think… that I should really stop that car in front of your house.” Niall actually needed ages to get it, he just blinked and kept staring dumbly at Liam until the other boy seemed to think he needed to explain himself. “I mean, I don’t know if your parents are awake or any of your neighbors, but… the car’s like… and you getting out of it… “

“Oh, right, yeah, I… I can walk from here, my house is right over there.” Niall’s face felt all flushed for not having gotten what Liam had been talking about for so long. Somehow though, he also felt somewhat relieved because apparently Liam did know who he was after all and yet he had still offered to drive the blonde home. “Thanks for… the ride and… yeah.”

“No problem. Thanks for letting me borrow your phone.” Liam smiled one more time, which almost caused Niall to hesitate before reaching for the door handle, but right when his fingers touched it, Liam surprised him a little bit, his voice sounding hesitant. “You, uh… you know who I am, right? And that our… our families-“

“I know.” Niall interrupted without thinking, only throwing a quick look back at Liam before pushing the door open, feeling slightly weird. “I won’t say anything.”

“Okay.” Was all Liam said and before the blonde could embarrass himself even further, he made sure to get out of the car and throw the door shut behind him, trying not to feel affected by how quickly Liam drove away. He had to be quick after all because if anybody would see them together…

Niall’s head was spinning as he walked home for like two minutes, already having a hard time believing that any of this had really happened. He could still smell Liam’s cologne though and he still heard his laugh if he really concentrated, and the way he had said Niall’s name before when the blonde had walked out of Harry’s house.

There were no messages on Niall’s phone when he got home, seeing his dad having fallen asleep in front of the TV, so he didn’t try to be all too quiet as he went upstairs to go have a shower. It felt a bit easier to think about it while standing under the hot water, helping the blonde to relax a tiny bit and stop worrying about Liam just messing with him because he wanted to ruin Niall’s life or something.

Liam was nice, he had driven to a party just to pick up his drunk friend and get him home safely and he had offered to drive Niall home even though they had never really talked and despite the fact that their families despised each other. Also, he had been talking completely normal in the car and for a moment there, Niall had almost had hopes that maybe, just maybe, they wouldn’t go back to ignoring each other.

Of course, the blonde’s wish wasn’t going to become reality because if anybody at uni saw them being friendly around each other somebody would tell someone else and then they were both dead. Or Niall would be at least, he had no idea how serious Liam’s family took this stupid fight, but in Niall’s home, the Payne’s were cursed at least three times a month ever since he could remember.

Lying in bed that night, Niall genuinely tried going to sleep without checking all of Liam’s social media, but then he still ended up doing it of course, for way longer than he had planned. It’s just… the brunette was constantly posting selfies and bits of his life, so how was Niall supposed to just ignore that?

He had a genuine crush on Liam since two years and it certainly had not gotten any better tonight, actually talking to him and seeing him laugh and being a nice person. If anything, and though Niall wouldn’t wanna change tonight’s events for anything in the world, he had just gotten himself into even deeper trouble.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi everyone :)
> 
> soooo i really hope you enjoyed the first chapter enough to wanna know how the story continues haha. i do not wanna put the focus on niall and liam getting to know each other and falling in love because its clear that niall already has a crush anyways. this is why i do not wanna drag them getting to know each other properly out as long as i sometimes do bc i actually wanna focus more on their actual relationship.
> 
> also, this fic was inspired partly by a fanfiction that used to be on AO3 but has since gotten deleted. i dont remember all of it in detail, but it was about niam not being able to openly date because of their families fighting. apart from that idea, i didnt take anything from the fic as i cannot even remember properly what happened but it was one of my faves and i somehow LOVE fics where they gotta keep their relationship a secret lmao
> 
> so i hope you liked it, im grateful for any kudo and comment and suggestion!
> 
> <3


	2. Chapter 2

“… also maybe I should change that part as well, it sounds weird, doesn’t it?“ Louis and Harry were both leaning over Harry’s laptop trying to figure out his homework together and Niall didn’t really know how he had ended up in this situation. “Niall, what do you think?”

“Huh, what?” The blonde pretended he hadn’t been paying attention to them, acting confused when Harry turned his laptop around to show him the screen. Even if Niall had had an idea about Harry’s biology classes, he wouldn’t have felt like helping him out, it was exhausting enough to help Louis turn his assignments in on time. Those two really did have a lot in common. “What even is mitosis?”

“Ni, are you for real? That’s high school stuff.” Did Niall know that? Of course he did, but Harry would surely think twice now before asking the blonde for help again. 

“We’re not in high school, I don’t need to know any of this.” Shrugging, the blonde took a sip from his water while the other two started googling Harry’s assignment, leaving Niall free to watch Liam with his friends through the entire cafeteria.

Usually Liam wasn’t in here all that often, which Niall knew because he had had two years to watch the other boy, so the blonde had been very against coming in here to sit with Harry and Louis. Now though, upon having seen the brunette, he had decided that maybe it hadn’t been such a bad idea after all. 

It was Monday now and Niall had spent all weekend after the party trying to study for a test, which he had quickly given up on in favor of over analyzing last Friday. His daydreaming had gotten interrupted by his brother a few times trying to pick a fight with the blonde but Niall barely ever reacted to it anymore now that he was older. They were only a year and a few months apart and they had never gotten along, not even as toddlers, and Niall couldn’t bloody wait until either of them finally moved out. Not that they were going to be able to afford it any time soon.

“This is bullshit, I’m just gonna do it tomorrow or something.” With that, Harry closed his laptop, making Niall flinch as he promptly turned his head away from Liam, maybe a bit too obviously because Harry did look over his shoulder, undoubtedly seeing Liam as well but he didn’t comment it. “You guys are so lucky you didn’t choose that class, I think I’m gonna fail.”

“I’m failing pretty much all my classes as well, so… “ Louis made it sound like no big deal because the truth was, he wasn’t actually failing anything at all but Niall didn’t say anything. “Niall’s the only genius here.”

“I just do things on time, Lou, it’s not that hard.” Well, apparently it was when you had a boyfriend you had to be around 24/7 but Niall wouldn’t know anything about that, would he? “Do you not know anyone in that class who could help you out with that, Harry?”

“Hmmm…. Liam probably could, but last time I asked him for help he wanted me to come to his house and his parents were there and… anyways, I might ask him later, it’s better than failing.” Having Harry randomly throwing Liam’s name and parents into the conversation was throwing Niall off track a little bit, he had to blink a few times, try not to let it show on his face while picking at his water bottle. 

“Or you could just ask him now, he’s over there.” Oh god, was Louis insane?! “I don’t think I ever talked to him, when you told me you knew him it was literally the weirdest thing ever. Also, I always thought he’s a douchebag.”

“He’s really not, I’ve known him since high school, people just like to spread rumors.” Yeah and a lot of them, Niall had no idea how often he had heard people talk about Liam saying he was arrogant and a fuckboy, but there had never been any proof. “But yeah, I guess I could ask him to come over, I could introduce you guys.”

Before Niall had been able to process what Harry had just said, the boy was already waving Liam over and as if he had been waiting for it, he genuinely made his way through the cafeteria towards their table. Somewhere in the back of his head Niall registered that his brother was in here and other people whose parents were friends with Niall’s parents, so even though it looked weird as hell, the blonde simply grabbed his bag and got up.

“I gotta go.” He just blurted out, grabbing his water bottle before making his way out of the cafeteria before Louis or Harry could react. Fuck, if Harry was going to introduce Louis and Liam… Niall couldn’t be seen with Liam, he couldn’t have Louis being friends with him either because his parents were surely going to find out and freak the hell out.

Niall had no idea if Liam had seen him or not, but it’s not like it mattered now because he was already gone and he’d have to explain himself to Louis later just like always. Except for last Friday, none of them had really mentioned the party and the blonde was pretty damn sure Louis and Harry had locked themselves into Harry’s room for the whole night long anyways.

The blonde had more time before his next class so he went to the library instead, trying to study for a bit since he hadn’t really been able to last weekend anyways. About ten minutes after Niall had left, there was already a text message on his phone that made him wanna roll his eyes into the back of his head.

 

_Louis 12:25 pm  
are you afraid of liam payne or something? He was real nice_

 

God, Niall didn’t need Louis telling him that Liam was fucking nice, he already knew that, but the worst part was that Harry seemed to have indeed introduced the two and now the blonde was really fucking screwed. Liam was the most popular guy in this stupid university, if he talked to Louis then everybody would know. 

 

_To Louis 12:28 pm  
I gotta study, I don’t care about that payne guy_

 

Maybe it sounded a little bit pathetic but Niall didn’t care, he just wanted Louis to never mention Liam to him ever again. What was Liam’s deal though? He had to know that they were going to get in trouble being seen together and yet he didn’t care? Maybe he was genuinely trying to ruin Niall’s life or something.

To be quite honest, Niall had thought about telling Louis the whole story a few times, but he had somehow always assumed that everyone was going to find out anyways and now it seemed like not even Liam’s friends knew about it. Even Niall’s brother was keeping his mouth shut lately although at home he’d always trash talk Liam and his family as if he had ever personally met any of them. Then again, Niall seemed to be the only one who thought about the Payne family on a daily basis.

Maybe Harry did know, maybe that’s why he had asked Niall if he knew Liam a week or so ago, but then why would he call Liam over? None of this made any sense, the blonde just knew that he should have kept away from Harry when he had still had the chance to because now he was most definitely screwed.

After his last class hours later, Niall made sure to find an excuse as to why he couldn’t come along to Louis’ place, spending his time in a quiet section of the library because he actually didn’t feel like going home at all. It was really frustrating, everything that was going on and Niall not knowing how to deal with it. He really should have at least told Louis about it, but somehow he really did not wanna have to talk about the part where he had been crushing on Liam for the last two years.

Obviously not getting any studying done, Niall stopped trying after a while, simply playing on his phone with the book lying open in front of him. He had been alone in the library for at least 45 minutes now, which wasn’t all too surprising because there weren’t a lot of evening classes as the university was somewhat small.

When he heard footsteps, Niall didn’t even bother turning around, it was probably just the librarian or some other student randomly deciding to study on a Monday at 5 pm. Honestly, the blonde was just hoping the person wasn’t going to sit at the same table he was sitting at because that would have just been weird.

For about five minutes, Niall actually thought he was alone before he flinched terribly when he heard a book dropping to the ground followed by a halfhearted apology. “Oops, sorry.”

Freezing in his chair upon hearing that voice, the blonde actually debated turning around for a moment before doing it, his heart about to stop. God, why was this happening to him, all in one week and a few days?

“Oh, hi.” It was fucking Liam, not even looking too surprised to see Niall there or his shocked facial expression, simply taking the book he had just dropped with him as he walked around the table to sit opposite of the blonde. Either he had lost his mind or he was genuinely trying to fuck up Niall’s life, there was no other explanation. 

“What are you doing?” Niall couldn’t believe his eyes, he felt way too surprised as to be nervous now or think about how good looking Liam was.

“Research? Usually I’m by myself on Monday’s though.” Okay, so he was trying to make the blonde believe that this was a regular thing for him? To come here on a Monday at 5 pm all by himself? “What are _you_ doing?”

That was probably the better question, Niall did have his book lying open in front of him, but he had just been playing on his phone for the longest time, not even having turned one single page yet. “Studying.”

“Okay.” Liam shrugged as if he didn’t actually care before pulling out a notebook and a pen as if he was really going to write stuff down now while Niall was watching him, not understanding the world anymore. “I met your friend today.”

“Okay?” Had he not seen Niall leave? 

“He asked me if I did something to you because you walked away so suddenly.” Oh, great, Louis could never keep his mouth shut, could he? “I told him you’re angry with me because I wouldn’t sign your shirt when you last came to watch the team train.”

“ _What?!_ " This was really crossing lines, Liam couldn’t just make things up and tell people he knew Niall and-

“I’m just joking.” The brunette was laughing over his own joke and Niall did calm down a bit but he was still highly alarmed. Anyone could have walked in here at any moment and seen them sitting there, talking to each other. “You should’ve seen your face just now.”

“It’s not funny… “ It really wasn’t, especially not the fact that Liam seemed to be so aware of Niall watching the bloody football team all the time. Also, why was Liam cracking jokes now?

“Don’t worry, I told him I don’t even know you.” Good, but Niall wasn’t sure if Harry was going to believe that as well. 

“You don’t.” Niall wasn’t trying to sound pissed off, but he kinda was now that he had confirmation that Liam had simply walked over to their table, _knowing_ that Niall was there and that Louis was his friend. Sure, the blonde was still more than infatuated by Liam, so he wasn’t looking him in the face in order to have it a bit easier because they couldn’t be doing this, they couldn’t be friendly around each other, as much as Niall wanted it. 

“I mean, I’ve kinda known you since we started uni and I’m pretty sure you’ve known me immediately as well.” Liam said it like it was no big deal, like the reason why they had known who the other was was completely normal. Still, it caused Niall’s heart to beat a bit faster after having gone two years thinking Liam had no clue who he was. “But it’s all good, Louis and Harry bought it.”

“Ummm… why did you even walk over to our table if you saw me?” The blonde couldn’t help but ask, he just wanted to know if Liam was playing games or not, if he was genuinely nice or just screwing with Niall because the sooner Niall knew, the sooner he could try to deal with it.

“It’s not like I was going to shake your hand in the middle of the cafeteria, don’t worry. Harry waved me over, I couldn’t just ignore him, I was planning on just telling him I had to leave or something.” Sure, Liam could say pretty much anything now and Niall would never find out the truth. “I’m not keen on anybody seeing us together either.”

“My brother and his friends…. they all know Louis as well though.” Niall said it like it was, hoping he wouldn’t have to explain this to Liam now because he really didn’t want to, he just wanted to move on from this so he wouldn’t have to feel hurt about Liam saying he wouldn’t want anybody to see them together. It was nothing to feel hurt over after all.

“I’ll stay away from him.” Liam had caught on immediately to Niall’s relief and the blonde relaxed a little bit, nodding slowly as he pretended to be reading a page in the book lying in front of him. 

Neither of them said a word for a few minutes and Niall could barely concentrate on anything, staring at Liam more often than not but the brunette seemed to be really writing down stuff from that book, as if he had genuinely come here to do research. “What if somebody comes in here and, like, sees us?”

“You want me to sit over there?” His voice sounded amused and Niall immediately felt stupid because if he had been that eager to get away from Liam, they both knew he would have already left without letting himself be pulled into a conversation. The only question was, why would Liam wanna sit there and talk to Niall in the first place?

“No, I mean, I don’t care where you sit.” A lie, heaven knew Niall would have been pretty hurt had Liam decided to sit anywhere else in this entire world. “I was just wondering is all… “

“No one comes here on a Monday evening and even if someone does come the chances of it being somebody who _knows_ are pretty slim.” Okay, how could Liam be so relaxed? He wasn’t even looking up while talking, simply kept on writing, giving Niall the best views ever on his face. God, he was so pretty and his hair looked so soft and whenever he smiled he had that dimple on his cheek and the blonde could barely stand not being allowed to be closer to him. 

“Did you ever, like, tell anyone about… it?” This was a weird question, but Niall had been wondering forever and now knowing that Liam had actually never at all been trying to avoid him or hating him in secret made Niall question a lot of other things also.

“No, why would I do that? I’m pretty sure a lot of people know, I mean I know a lot of things about a lot of people here as well, but… no one’s asked me about it in like a year. You?” Liam made it sound like it was no big deal when they both knew that it was, maybe not to other people but definitely to their families.

“No, I never told anybody and nobody ever asked me, but … I’m pretty sure my brother’s been telling people though and if he ever saw me talking to you… “ Then Niall wouldn’t have to come home anymore basically, his father had made that very clear on several occasions.

“So you’ve also grown up with my last name being used as an insult?” He was laughing again, no idea how he managed to be so amused by all of this but it did make Niall laugh as well, if only for a moment.

“Pretty much, yeah.” No need to go in detail here if they had had similar experiences anyways.

“I think it’s all bullshit.” Liam said it just like that, shrugging and continuing to write without ever looking at Niall but the blonde still felt a tug in the corner of his mouth.

“Me too… “ Hearing Liam say that and being able to agree somehow felt really fucking good, Niall couldn’t help the smile on his face even though he tried really hard to wipe it off. It’s just, he had been daydreaming about this for two years and suddenly it was happening and even better than he could have ever imagined. Even if they weren’t friends or anything, to know that Liam held no grudge and that he didn’t mind talking to Niall and sitting with him was enough for now.

They sat like that for a while, Liam doing actual work and Niall pretending, again spending more time on his phone and staring at the brunette though. It wasn’t an uncomfortable silence at all and somehow Niall knew he could have asked Liam anything at all and the boy wouldn’t have been bothered by it, but it was kinda nice just looking at him once a while, actually seeing his face rather close in real life rather than on a screen. 

If Liam had known about Niall’s crush, would he have thought that the blonde was a creepy stalker? Would he have been completely weirded out by the thought? Probably, Niall didn’t stand out at all appearance wise and probably also not personality wise whereas Liam was the complete opposite.

“So, are you coming to the game next week?” Liam asked out of nowhere, finally looking up again, straight up catching the blonde staring at him so Niall blinked before making sure to look away, clearing his throat a few times.

“ Uh, I haven’t really, like… thought about that… “ Only about one billion times, but going to the football games actually wasn’t as exciting for Niall as going to the training because it was hard keeping an eye on Liam during a game. Also, there were a lot of other people doing the exact same thing. 

“You should, we’re gonna win.” There was a grin on the other boy’s face that somehow made Niall laugh even though he was trying to suppress it. “What, you don’t think we will win?”

“I don’t know, I’m not good at football, I told you.” But to be fair, Niall had been at pretty much every game and they had almost always won. 

“But you’ve been at the training sessions.” Why was Liam always bringing that up?!

“Yeah, but… it’s not like I always watch, I barely ever watch, I usually just sit there and do other things for uni, I mean there’s nowhere else to sit really if you wanna sit outside, so… yeah.” Niall stopped himself once he realized that he was just talking crap, pretending to cough so he wouldn’t have to look Liam in the eyes.

“Okay, but you should still come anyways. I’m sure Harry will come and he’s probably gonna take Louis.” Well maybe Liam thought that that made it more appealing to the blonde, but it actually had the opposite effect on Niall. Still, let’s face it, he was going to come anyways, now that Liam had _personally_ asked him to come, as if he genuinely wanted him there. 

“I’ll think about it.” Niall tried to make it sound like he wasn’t excited, almost feeling a bit light headed from speaking to Liam that way.

“I might even sign a shirt for you if you do.” Of course Liam was teasing him, making Niall roll his eyes as the brunette laughed at him, not in a real mocking way though but rather as if he was just really enjoying himself, his eyes crinkling up and his dimple showing and Niall couldn’t believe that he was becoming witness of that. 

The question was on the tip of Niall’s tongue, but then he decided to stay quiet, decided not to ask why Liam wanted him to come to his game because he didn’t wanna ruin his own excitement by having the brunette brushing it off. So instead, Niall simply switched the topic. “I’ve been wanting to ask you something for the longest time… “

“Um, okay?” Almost immediately Liam had gotten serious again, probably thinking this was something about their families and Niall had to bite back a smile.

“What’s your dog’s name?” He had seen Liam and other members of his family with a pretty huge dog and it’s not like he had desperately been wanting to know its name, but he somehow did wanna know because Liam had never mentioned it on social media.

“My d- his name’s Watson.” Liam sounded more than surprised by that question, seeming uncertain whether Niall had really just been wanting to know that. “Have you seen me walking him or something?”

“Yeah, a few times actually, he’s _massive_.” That made Liam laugh, probably because Niall was maybe exaggerating a little tiny bit.

“He’s a Great Dane, he has to be massive. You should see him when he’s trying to get in my bed, he- or wait, I can show you, actually.” Damn, Liam was so cute when he got excited about things and Niall was a bit struck by that realization because he had already been into Liam enough as it was.

So Liam pulled out his phone to obviously look for a picture of his dog spreading himself out over his bed and Niall had already seen that photo on his Instagram a week ago but that was beside the point. Liam didn’t stop after that, he actually looked for several other pictures of his dog just to show Niall and then moving on to showing him other stuff as well because they were already at it.

Honestly, Niall did not notice time passing by when he was around Liam, by now having calmed down immensely about being around him and actually talking to him, joking around. If it had gone after Niall, they would have never had to leave this library because apparently no one else was coming in here anyways to see them spending time together.

Unfortunately though, they did have to leave at some point because the library had closing hours and Niall was actually a bit shocked to find out that it had been two whole hours because it definitely had not felt like that. They did walk outside together as nobody was there anymore and the building was already dark. 

“I’d offer to drive you, but it’s probably not dark enough for that yet.” Liam sounded apologetic but Niall didn’t even care if he had had to wait ten years for that bus to come.

“’s fine, I’d rather wait for the bus than be disowned once I get home.” They both laughed even though it wasn’t actually a joke but rather the painful truth. 

“True… “The parking lot was in the other direction, so they were obviously going to have to say goodbye at some point even though Niall really did not want to do that right now or ever. “I’m guessing the latest I’ll see you again is on Friday at the training?”

“Oh, shut up, I’m not only there when you guys are training.” Niall was so good at lying, he was actually pretty sure Liam believed him. 

“Now I’m hurt.” He didn’t even try to look hurt though, he was rather grinning and the blonde could feel himself getting hot from being so close to Liam. Actually, he would have thought the brunette was just going to say goodbye once they were outside and walk away, but instead, he made Niall speechless. “Here, in case you wanna apologize.”

“I… “ Taking the piece of paper Liam was holding towards him without really thinking about it, Niall didn’t even _dare_ to think about what it was.

“Well, I should probably go… see you around.” Liam smiled before turning around and simply walking away, not even giving Niall the chance to say goodbye but he wasn’t sure if he would have brought out a single word anyways.

Watching Liam walk away for a moment and not knowing what to do, Niall finally noticed that his hands were shaking as he unfolded the piece of paper Liam must have torn off his notebook while the blonde had been pretending to study.

The blonde actually held his breath for a second, almost forgetting to release it again afterwards when he saw Liam’s phone number written across the paper, making Niall feel just a tiny bit dizzy, his stomach filling with butterflies. He had Liam Payne’s phone number right in front of his eyes after Liam had _wanted_ him to have it and after spending the last two hours with him. 

All of this was already worth spending two damn years pining for him and going behind his family’s back.

 

\--------------------------

 

Niall didn’t dare texting Liam for the rest of the day because he simply didn’t know what to say. So when he was lying in bed and it was already 1 am, the blonde decided that he definitely needed to say _something_ because what if Liam though that Niall didn’t actually want anything to do with him? If it had been Niall giving Liam his number and the brunette hadn’t texted him, the blonde would have freaked the hell out. Then again, Niall also had a crush on Liam since years, so that was something else.

A part of Niall was suspicious though, even while writing a text message to send to Liam, because what _if_ Liam was just messing with him, maybe it wasn’t even his number, maybe he had just been nice to Niall to fuck him over. Or maybe his family had sent Liam to play spy or something, but that would have been fucking ridiculous, right?

Despite his slight worries, Niall still pressed send after hesitating for about two seconds, immediately locking his phone afterwards though because he was afraid of what Liam was going to answer. IF he was going to answer and not only considering that it was already one in the morning.

 

_To Liam 01:04 am  
i hope you’re not unable to sleep like me rn but maybe its because I still havent apologized for what I said earlier so sorry, of course i NEVER go to the sports field when youre not there :p_

 

A poor attempt at a joke, Niall actually terribly regretted what he had written, but he also wouldn’t have known what else to write. So he did actually try to fall asleep after that, which seemed to be considerably easier, especially because Liam wasn’t going to answer anyways because he was surely asleep and even if he hadn’t been, he probably wouldn’t have known what to reply to something as stupid as Niall had just texted him.

 

\--------------------

 

“I know you don’t wanna hear it, but last night me and Harry-“

“You’re right, I do NOT wanna hear that, Lou, oh my god.” Niall had had heard enough about Louis’ sex life to last a lifetime, he had never been one to hold back even before Harry, but it had definitely gotten worse. 

“Oh c’mon, if I was with a girl I’m sure you wouldn’t care.” Wait, what?

“You… you genuinely think I don’t wanna hear about you having sex just because you’re with a guy?” Honestly, Niall was shocked, he almost stopped walking in the middle of the hallway and force Louis to look at him because… what the fuck? “I’ve got some news for you, I don’t wanna hear about you having sex with _anyone_. Or anything for that matter.”

“Any _thing?!_ ” Well, served Louis right to be pissed off now, Niall was pissed off as well, not only because it was already 2 pm and Liam had still not answered his text message but also because apparently his best friend believed that Niall was disgusted by the fact that he was gay.

“Yeah? Remember when we were younger and you’d always tell me about how you bought a-“

“Okay, okay, but that was years ago. But it’s funny that you’re bringing that up now because what I actually wanted to tell you was that last night we used the same d-“

“I need to go.” Niall genuinely did not care about who Louis had sex with or what he did in bed, so he make sure to cut his friend off, promptly bumping into another student that caused Niall to hit the wall in a kinda painful way. “Sorry… “

“No worries, mate.” The blonde had no idea who that person was, all he knew was that when he looked up again, he barely took notice of Louis petting his shoulder because he was rather staring into Liam’s eyes for a moment. 

It wasn’t Liam who he had bumped into him but rather one of his friends, who were all walking away now and the brunette actually had his mouth open for a second before seemingly changing his mind and going after his friends. His face had looked concerned but honestly, Niall didn’t even care right now, Liam obviously did not want anything to do with him if he couldn’t even send a fucking emoji or whatever.

“Are you bleeding?” Louis didn’t sound half has worried as Liam had seemed to be and Niall brushed the older’s hand off as he simply kept on walking, rubbing the side of his head. “Why are you getting irritated by everything lately?”

“I just hit my head in the wall, Lou, sorry for not jumping around in joy and listening to your sex stories.” God, what if Harry was someone to share intimate details as well? Would Niall have to deal with both of them from now on? “And for your information, I don’t give a shit if you’re gay or not and if you genuinely think t-“

“Calm down, Nialler, my god, it was just a joke, okay? I know you’re not the straightest person out there either.” Louis said it as if he KNEW something and Niall immediately heard alarm bells going off in his head. Fuck, had Niall been staring at Liam too obviously or something?

“Does that matter?” Honestly, neither of them had ever really talked about their sexuality with each other, Louis had never officially ‘come out’ to Niall and so the blonde actually saw no point in that statement. Except if Louis would have wanted to hint something of course.

“No. But I’m right?” God.

“I don’t know.” Niall shrugged, hoping that Louis didn’t notice his cheeks getting a bit hotter. His head was hurting less now so Niall stopped rubbing the spot, instead getting his phone out to check the time, almost dropping it right away though. Liam had texted back after all.

 

_Liam 02:16 pm  
You alright?_

 

He was clearly referring to what had just happened minutes ago and the blonde really hated himself for it but he couldn’t help his heart speeding up and the corners of his mouth twitching a bit.

“Okay, look, I’m sorry for what I said. And you sexuality isn’t any of my business either, I got a bit… carried away telling you about last night.” Louis was apologizing as if he truly meant it but Niall was barely able to listen to him, all his anger had simply disappeared all of a sudden.

“’s fine.” Was all Niall said to Louis while typing a reply to Liam, almost bumping into somebody else because he had been paying so little attention.

 

_To Liam 02:19 pm  
im good_

 

“Soooo… you’re not, like, mad at me anymore?“ Louis seemed to be confused by the blonde’s quick change of mood, which was understandable, but Niall didn’t really care because it hadn’t even taken Liam a minute to answer him.

 

_Liam 02:19 pm  
:)_

 

It wasn’t a lot but somehow it still made Niall happy, to know that Liam somehow cared if he was alright or not, that he had finally texted him back in general. Maybe he hadn’t known what to say either, right? Or maybe he had simply forgotten or something, it could have been all sorts of things and-

“Niall, did you hear what I said?” Even now, Niall had a hard time concentrating on whatever his best friend was saying because he was kinda busy dumbly smiling at his phone like an idiot. “Who are you texting?”

“No one.” Feeling exposed, the blonde immediately put his phone away so Louis wouldn’t have a chance to see Liam’s name because that would have pretty much been the worst thing that could have happened right now. “I’m not mad at you.”

“Okay, good. You wanna skip the lecture and go to McDonald’s?” For a moment, Niall wanted to simply say no, but then he looked at Louis and he thought about how that lecture was boring as hell and the fact that Liam cared about his well-being, so… why not?

“Yeah, let’s go.” Louis seemed very happy about that answer and Niall saw it as an opportunity to spend some time with his best friend without Harry being there. Sure, he was nice and all, but Niall barely knew him and the fact that he was in their lives had made Niall’s a whole lot more complicated. 

The day wasn’t too long because Niall ended up skipping not one but two classes with Louis and once he was done with the rest of them, the blonde did actually go home immediately for once. Mostly because he knew no one would be there for a few more hours anyways but only a little bit because he was in a pretty good mood ever since Liam had texted him.

It was still so damn mind blowing, to actually have Liam’s number saved in his phone, that the brunette had given it to Niall because he had wanted to and that they had kinda hung out and that Liam had texted him and it was a _lot_ to take in for the blonde.

He really did not wanna have any hopes that maybe they could ever be friends or… or something else, because that was kinda ridiculous. Then again, if anybody had told Niall two weeks ago that all this was going to happen, he wouldn’t have believed just one single word, so there was that as well. Niall just needed to keep a cool head and to not be disappointed if it didn’t go the way he wanted it to go because let’s face it, that was pretty unlikely anyways.

Niall tried to spend the time he was alone at home wisely but of course it ended with him watching TV in the living room, which he pretty much never did when his family was home, and texting Louis about another stupid assignment they had to hand in soon that the older boy seemed to have magically forgotten about again.

Somewhere in the middle of their conversation Niall’s mother came home so Niall made sure to go to his room instead and close the door after doing the bare minimum and saying hello to her. Needless to say, his relationship with any of his family members wasn’t the best and sometimes Niall would go days without having a conversation with any of them, especially his brother.

When Niall was about to try and force himself to study for a bit while lying on his bed, he actually thought about putting his phone away for a while in order to concentrate better, but of course the blonde reached for it again as soon as the screen lit up, about to roll his eyes as he was already expecting Louis to tell him that he needed help with his assignment.

Once Niall read the message on his phone though, he basically just froze up for a moment, having to reread the text twice before being able to unlock his phone with shaky fingers.

 

_Liam 07:21 pm  
hey I thought maybe youd appreciate a funny picture of my dog haha_

 

Liam had indeed sent Niall a random picture of his dog all wet in the bathtub and about five minutes after Niall had calmed down about the fact that Liam had texted him that out of nowhere, the brunette sent him another picture to show the blonde the aftermath of his dog drying himself off by shaking. So yeah, there it was, on Niall’s own phone, a picture of Liam’s very wet shirt.

For a moment, Niall wasn’t actually sure what to say or why Liam would wanna show him these pictures, like, he even panicked a bit thinking maybe Liam had chosen the wrong person on accident. In the end though, Niall decided that he definitely needed to say _something_ because otherwise Liam would maybe never text him again.

 

_To Liam 07:30 pm  
Haha youre proper drenched ! that’s a huge bathtub though_

 

Okay, maybe implying that Liam’s bathroom looked like he lived in a mansion, which he kinda did, hadn’t been the best idea. Niall didn’t have a lot of time to worry though because Liam seemed to be literally the fastest texter ever, sending Niall more pictures and a very detail description of how hard of a time he was having each time he had to wash his dog.

It was so random and Niall couldn’t actually believe this was happening, thinking that Liam was going to stop replying every time he sent him another message, but he just didn’t, easily slipping from one topic to the other, keeping the conversation light and carefree. They did take more time between their messages after a while and once Niall had calmed himself down enough to be more relaxed about this whole situation.

They didn’t stop texting until like 11 pm, Liam being the one who said he really needed to go to bed or he’d pass out tomorrow in class. Of course them texting for like 3 hours ended with Niall lying in bed that night not being able to fall asleep before 2 in the morning yet again but honestly, he’d never ever go to sleep again if he’d get to talk to Liam instead.

 

\-----------------------

 

Somehow, it became their thing for the next few days to be texting throughout, even at uni. Sure, sometimes one of them wouldn’t reply for a few hours but they kept up the conversation anyways and Niall kinda got used to it because it was definitely easier to write Liam stuff that he maybe wouldn’t have said to his face.

They couldn’t really do much more other than look at each other on accident around campus, but Niall did ‘accidentally’ stumble into the library again on the following Monday, feeling quite stupid about it actually when Liam didn’t show up at the same time as he had the week before. When he did though, he actually _apologized_ for being late and Niall didn’t feel all that stupid anymore.

Hanging out with Liam was really easy, they weren’t talking the whole time but getting actual work done as well even though Niall was having a hard time concentrating with the brunette sitting right there. It was definitely getting better though the more time passed even though at times the blonde still wanted to pinch himself thinking that maybe it was all a dream. 

On the following Friday, the day of the football game, Niall was kinda nervous because Louis hadn’t bothered him about going there and he didn’t really know what it’d look like if he showed up all by himself. Sure, he probably would have found somebody to go with, but wouldn’t it have looked rather strange? Especially because he never showed any interest in football whatsoever? Usually he didn’t have a problem going by himself, but now that he knew that Liam was going to notice…

“How did you and Louis meet? Did you go to school together?” Harry seemed to have developed awfully much interest in Niall’s personal life lately and it seemed like the closer Niall got to Liam, Harry seemed to think he and Niall were getting twice as close.

“Yeah, we met in high school, on the first day actually, it’s not a very exciting story. We just had a lot of the same classes and we kinda just stuck together and became friends.” This really was not interesting in any way but Harry still nodded along as if he was afraid he might lose track. Okay, why exactly were they even hanging out together, all by themselves while Louis had class? Harry had tons of other friends?

“Louis said something about you forgetting to wear the uniform o-“

“He told you that?!” God, that had been the most embarrassing moment of Niall’s life. They had had to wear school uniforms in school and Niall’s parents hadn’t been that involved in the blonde’s life so he had shown up the first day without one, of course having been sent to the principal where he had had to lie about forgetting to put it on so that no one would find out that he didn’t even own one yet. 

“Just because he said that’s the reason he wanted to be friends with you.” Harry immediately tried to do damage control, obviously feeling guilty for having exposed his boyfriend like that but it’s not like Niall was going to bring it up anyways.

“How charming.” Was that really true though? He had been the one to approach Louis after all, not the other way around. “Good thing he told me the story of how you two met ten times already so I don’t have to ask anymore.”

“Did he really?” The other boy laughed, very obviously happy about that and Niall wasn’t sure if he wanted to vomit or not.

“Yeah, it was probably even more than ten actually. And then he analyzed every single thing you said and asked me what I thought it meant and if it was a bad choice of him to wear red on your first date and if it was a bad sign that it was raining and that he missed his bus.” Louis wouldn’t mind Niall saying all of that or the blonde wouldn’t have done it, besides, it seemed like Harry was having the time of his life and Louis wanted them to get along after all, right?

“Really?! That doesn’t even sound like him, when we didn’t know each other that well I never thought he ever spent a second to think about what he was going to say.” Niall shrugged because Harry was right, kinda feeling like he and Harry were having a gossiping session here so he decided to tone it down.

“Yeah… pretty sure he never put that much thought into it before though.” It was true, Louis had been with people before Harry and Niall had experienced it all, but it had still never been like this and the blonde told Harry just because it seemed to make him happy. “Don’t tease him with it though or it’s gonna be my fault in the end.”

“I won’t say a word, don’t worry.” Harry was grinning and Niall brought himself to a smile before eating some of the chips he had bought from the cafeteria before Harry had shown up, sitting down opposite him as if the blonde had been waiting for him or something. 

They sat in silence for a moment, Harry was texting and Niall was just staring at nothing at all, again thinking about sending Liam a text message to wish him good luck, but wouldn’t it have been too early for that? Also they had been texting until an hour ago so maybe it would have seemed weird or maybe Liam was going to think that Niall only said it because he wasn’t planning on showing up. 

Looking at Harry for a second, an idea was forming in Niall’s head that he really did not want to think through completely because it already made him cringe. Still, if he didn’t wanna go there all by himself and look like an idiot, he would have to eventually ask somebody to go with him and it couldn’t be Louis because Louis would have asked too many questions.

“So…. are you going to the game?” Niall tried to make it sound innocent, as if he was just trying to be polite and have some small talk, feeling a bit discouraged though when Harry put down his phone and rolled his eyes.

“Yeah, I have to, half my friends are on the team.” Okay, that was a good start. 

“Do you not want to or something?” He seemed to be pretty annoyed by it and Niall tried to fake some sympathy.

“No, I don’t mind, but I’m probably going to have to go by myself because everyone else found an excuse or is sick and Louis needs to babysit his sisters, so… “ God, Niall hated this, truly, he fucking hated that he now had to ASK Harry if he could go with him to this stupid game just because Liam had asked him to come and because Niall wanted to see him play. Then again, he didn’t necessarily have to make it sound like he was asking, right? 

“If you don’t wanna go alone, like, I could go with you.” The blonde tried to make it sound as if he was just offering because he was a good person, as if he wanted them to get along equally as much as Harry and Louis and the other boy’s head immediately snapped up.

“For real?” Maybe this was mean, but then again, it was going to benefit both of them, wasn’t it? Neither of them wanted to show up by themselves and even Louis would be happy because Niall would spend time with Harry out of his own free will. 

“Yeah, I don’t mind and I’ve got, like, no plans.” At least that part was the truth so Niall tried to make himself feel better a bit by believing that he was just doing something nice after all. 

“That’d be really cool, I’ve been dreading this since a week or so.” Not as long as Niall then. 

“Yeah, sure, we can do that. Unless Louis doesn’t want us t-“

“Don’t worry about that, pretty sure Louis would love for us to hang out, I’ll tell him later.” Of course he would, Niall had just been trying to keep up his act where he was pretending that he didn’t want to go the game even more badly than Harry. “I’ll give you my number for later then.”

“Okay.” Niall could have also gotten it from Louis but he still got his phone out, typing in the number the other boy told him. “Should I give you mine as well, or… “

“I already have it.” Right, Niall should have known. “But hey, it’s gonna be fun, the game I mean, and I can finally introduce you to Liam afterwards because I never got the chance a while back.”

“Um, I… “ Fuck, right, sitting next to Harry was going to draw even more of Liam’s attention on the blonde.

“You’re not really afraid of him, are you? Because you left so suddenly when he came over?” Oh god, was this forever going to haunt Niall? Sure, he had been pretty obvious about not wanting to meet Liam, but why did everyone care so much about that anyways? Niall was just really glad that Liam very obviously wasn’t telling anybody about them either. Not like they were doing anything other than talking, but Niall had surely never thought about Liam as much as during the last few weeks and considering he had been thinking about him for two years really said something. 

“Why would I be afraid?” Niall forced himself to laugh as if that question was ridiculous. “I just really had to study.”

“… Right.” Harry didn’t seem to believe him but Niall didn’t try to say anything else, he just avoided the other boy’s eyes, pretending that he was really thirsty all of a sudden. “So I can introduce you tonight then?”

“Umm… isn’t he, like, the captain or something? I mean, if they win he’s gonna be really busy partying and stuff, I-“

“Oh, come on, Niall, he’s really nice. You’ll like him.” At least Harry had gotten that right. “I do hope they win though, otherwise he might be a bit grumpy.”

“Great.” Was that true though? Maybe Niall should have texted Liam to wish him good luck after all, but he seemed really busy or otherwise he would have answered the blonde… right? 

“They’re gonna win anyways, they always do and- oh, hi, babe.” Niall hadn’t even noticed Louis approaching them, watching him as he kissed Harry before sitting down next to him, the smirk on his face making Niall want to leave.

“Hi, guys, what’s up?” It’s not like Niall could have kept hanging out with Harry a secret from Louis, but he would have really rather not been there when Harry would have told Louis about it. Niall wasn’t embarrassed or anything, he just wasn’t sure how he had gone from avoiding Harry for months to spending this much time with him. 

“Niall said he’d come to the game with me since you ditched me.” God, now they were teasing each other in front of Niall and the blonde wanted to vomit.

“Hey, I gotta babysit, I’d rather go with you, you know that.” He wasn’t really pissed off of course, but Niall did feel slightly weird that he’d just hang out with his best friend’s boyfriend without asking first.

“Yeah, I… I’ll only go if you don’t mind though, Lou, I understand if-“

“What? Why would I care about that, Nialler? I want you guys to get along, I think it’s great.” Louis seemed to genuinely mean it and Niall wanted to roll his eyes but then he didn’t. After all, he had been the one to offer Harry that he’d go with him, even if just for his own benefit, but no one knew that, right? Also, he DID get along with Harry, it just made him nervous considering how often they talked about Liam. “On the other hand… “

“What?” Niall was more than confused when his best friend suddenly stopped smiling, leaning over the table a bit, almost making the blonde think that maybe Louis was angry with him after all.

“Are you gonna be okay going to the game if Liam’s there or are you gonna be too scared?” And two seconds later, both Louis and Harry burst out laughing and the blonde could feel his cheeks getting hot as he rolled his eyes, annoyed but at the same time feeling kind of scared. What if they found out about him and Liam being kinda friends? Would everybody else find out as well?

“I gotta go, I got literature.” In fifteen minutes with a 2 minute walk.

“Awww, come on, Ni, it was just a joke.” Louis was still chuckling but Niall ignored him, pretending to be upset as he stuffed his things into his bag before walking away from the other two, both of them yelling something after him. “Love you, Nialler!”

“I’ll text you later!”

This wasn’t going to have a good ending, Niall could feel it, but at least he’d get to watch Liam running around in sweaty clothes for 90 minutes before that.

 

\--------------

 

_Liam 07:34 pm  
Youre coming tonight right?_

 

Niall couldn’t stop smiling at his phone, but Harry was walking right next to him so the blonde was trying to be subtle about it. He had spent a few hours at home before thinking that maybe Liam didn’t care anymore if he showed up.

 

_To Liam 7:35 pm  
Sure. Good luck!_

 

He was trying to make it sound as if he wasn’t overly excited about this game even though he wasn’t sure if he really needed to hide that from Liam. It was obvious that the older boy really wanted him to come and that he must have liked Niall at least as something like a friend because why else would he wanna talk to him and hang out with him and not tell anyone about it? If he had wanted to somehow make fun of Niall or something, he surely wouldn’t have carried on being nice to him and sending him pictures of his dog, right?

“I think they should have their games sooner, it’ll be like 11 by the time I’m back home.” Harry had been complaining pretty much ever since they had met up ten minutes ago to walk there together and Niall had barely answered but rather just nodded along. 

“It’s Friday though.” The blonde noted, trying not to stare at his phone too much because Liam probably wasn’t going to answer him anymore anyways. 

“Yeah, but I gotta get up tomorrow and work at the bakery. Maybe Liam can drive us.” Oh god, why in God’s name did they _always_ have to talk about Liam?! “Do you not have work tomorrow?”

“I do, but only in the evening, so… “ Which was good but on the other hand not really. “I’m just glad I don’t have to work tonight.”

“That would have sucked. For me.” Harry laughed and Niall smiled before checking his phone again, reading a message from Louis telling him to have fun with Harry that the blonde ignored. “Where’d you wanna sit?”

“I don’t mind.” It’s not like Liam was going to stay in one place, right? 

There were a lot of people considering the fact that their university was kinda small, but not enough as to where no one would have noticed Niall, so he was just silently praying that at least his brother wasn’t anywhere around. Did he know that Harry was friends with Liam? And if his dad knew that Niall was kinda friends with Harry, would he even care? One thing was for sure, Niall certainly did not want to find out, sitting next to Harry who was talking his ear off about something uni related while trying not to get too excited about seeing Liam.

The brunette didn’t answer Niall anymore, but that was fine because the game was supposed to start at 8 anyways, so he probably needed to change or something. Harry was now talking about his sister or something but the blonde was only listening with one ear as soon as the team came out on the field and maybe it was embarrassing as hell, but Niall found Liam almost on an instant. Maybe he had spent a bit too much time staring at him in that outfit. 

God, he was so good looking and Niall hadn’t seen him at all today, so of course his heart kinda stopped when Liam looked over, almost getting scared when he waved before realizing that Harry was sitting right next to him. “See, he’s nice.”

“He waved.” Yes, Liam WAS nice, but if Niall hadn’t known him and hadn’t had a crush on him since two years, _waving_ would have set the bar pretty low. “Also I’m not scared of him, I just really had to study, okay?”

Harry just chuckled instead of answering so Niall rolled his eyes to himself before ignoring the other boy once more, feeling a bit as if Harry was already getting too comfortable around him. Like, he was acting as if they had been friends for months or something when they hadn’t ever even spoken properly a month ago. 

The thing was though, Niall actually didn’t care at all whatever Harry said while he was watching Liam and the other boy probably stopped talking after a few minutes anyways but it’s not like the blonde would have noticed. Watching Liam, it made more than sense that he was the team captain, like, maybe Niall was a little bit biased but Liam was clearly the best player and the smartest as well. And the best looking one but that was beside the point.

For some reason, Niall got a little bit nervous thinking that maybe Liam’s team was going to lose or something, but after half time he managed to relax a little bit when they were clearly going to win. It’s not like it would have mattered because Liam had won enough games, but Niall didn’t want him to be sad or anything, even if maybe then he would have texted the blonde or something. Then again, why would he do that?

Niall did talk to Harry once a while, but he pretty much never took his eyes off of Liam, trying not to daydream too much about him, which of course was pointless. Now that they were texting and talking though, all of Niall’s wishes didn’t seem all that far away anymore even if he knew that there was just no bloody way that Liam would ever want the same thing that Niall wanted. But if they could be friends then that was good enough for the blonde, at least then he wouldn’t have to spend every single uni break hoping he’d randomly see Liam in public. 

“God, I’m so glad they won, they would have spent all week trying to analyze their mistakes.” Harry was half screaming into Niall’s ear once the game was over and everyone was cheering, but his eyes were still glued to Liam as good as possible before he’d disappear in the dressing room. “Should we go and I’ll introduce you?”

“Uh, I don’t know…” What was Niall’s supposed to say? He just shrugged for now because they couldn’t immediately leave when everyone else was leaving as well. “They probably wanna be by themselves.”

“No, I told you, I’m friends with half the team.” Oh, how great… 

“Okay… “ Niall didn’t know what else to say, he wanted to go home but he also kind of really wanted to see Liam and he really didn’t think that anybody would notice if he just stood there while Harry and Liam were talking, but then again… what if anybody DID notice? Not like everyone in this uni was out to ruin Niall’s life or even knew anything about his family, but he couldn’t get reckless and just hope for the best either.

The blonde did end up following Harry of course because he didn’t have much of a choice, still kinda hoping that they were just going to say hi and then leave, but seeing Harry text with Liam on their way to the lockers got Niall a tiny bit nervous. There were people everywhere now and Niall was pretty sure he had seen his brother before, which made him pretty paranoid. Maybe he should have left, not cared what Harry thought about him or anybody teasing him about being scared of Liam but the thing was, he _really_ wanted to see him. 

So Niall did end up going with Harry, waiting with him outside and listening to some story the other boy was telling him, kinda hoping that Liam wasn’t going to come out all by himself. Also, why did Harry wanna introduce him to Liam only if he was friends with half the team? All of this was pretty damn weird, but now Niall was already standing there, his heart beating a bit faster while he was biting his thumbnail and-

“Hi.” It was Liam, Niall knew before he had even turned around, almost immediately feeling his whole body filling with panic as he looked around to make sure nobody was watching. To be fair, it was pretty dark and absolutely no one was looking in their direction but still.

“Oh, hi. Congrats on the win.” Harry hugged his friend briefly while Niall just stood there trying to smile. “That’s Niall.”

“Hi. Liam.” He _genuinely_ introduced himself to Niall with a smile, stretching his hand out for the blonde to shake and Niall froze for a second before he took it, feeling like a robot. First, he had never touched Liam’s hand obviously, but second, Liam Payne was shaking his hand in public and Niall could feel the blood rushing in his ears. “Sooo… you guys need a ride home? Or did you drive here, Haz?”

“No, I didn’t, wasn’t sure if I’d drink anything. Are you not going out though?” No… no, Liam couldn’t drive them home, he couldn’t be fucking serious?! 

“Nah, gotta help my dad with something in the morning.” Liam shrugged, seemingly all relaxed and as if there was nothing at all for them to worry about. Had he lost his mind?! “I parked the car somewhere else though, we gotta walk a bit.”

“That’s fine, I don’t mind. Niall?” When Harry addressed him, the blonde noticed that his mouth had still been open so he quickly closed it, clearing his throat as he looked down because Liam’s smile was pretty distracting.

“Yeah, um, sure… “ Liam had parked his car away and it was dark outside, did that mean… did that mean he had had this planned? Why would he have not parked on the uni parking lot otherwise?

Niall didn’t get an answer to his question, he just walked next to Harry while the other boy was busy talking with Liam about the game, pulling his hood up over his head in order to maybe try and hide his face a bit. No idea what Niall had been thinking agreeing to this, he just knew that he was pretty damn close to not caring anymore once Liam had dropped off Harry at home and turned to the blonde with a smile. 

“Okay, where’d you wanna go?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey guys!!!! thank you so much for so many kudos for only one chapter & all the lovely comments, i didnt think you would like this idea so much but im so happy you do!!! :D i hope you all enjoyed this chapter as well!
> 
> today is actually my birthday and im really glad i managed to update anyways haha, i really enjoyed writing this chapter and i guess its safe to say that things will definitely get very interesting ;)


	3. Chapter 3

“What do you mean?“ Niall was so confused, he wasn’t sure if Liam was asking because he had forgotten where the blonde lived or if he meant something else, but then again, why would he mean something else?

“If you don’t wanna go anywhere we can just stay here in the car as well.” Liam was smiling, which was hard to tell because it was kinda dark and the car was still parked in front of Harry’s house with no streetlight nearby. 

“Where would I wanna go?” Except home, maybe? But Niall immediately realized how weird this had sounded and his cheeks turned hot as Liam started laughing at him. “I didn’t mean it like that, I just meant, like… what?”

“’s fine if you don’t wanna hang out, I can drive you home and-“

“Wait.” Hang out? With Liam? Now?! “You wanna… you wanna hang out with me?”

“Uh, yeah?” The other boy seemed confused, as if it had been obvious, but in what kinda world would that have been obvious?! “Unless you gotta get up early or something, it’s almost eleven.”

“I don’t have to get up early, I always get the late shifts that no one wants.” No idea why Niall had just said that, it seemed like words were falling out of his mouth without him noticing because he was more focused on how unsteady his heartbeat was. Liam wanted to hang out with him, alone. 

“Okay, so where do you wanna go?” The other boy repeated his question, sounding pretty amused as he suddenly started the car and the blonde couldn’t believe this was real.

“I thought _you_ have to get up early tomorrow.” That’s what he had told Harry before and… wait, if he didn’t have to get up early, why wasn’t he out celebrating the team’s success?

“Well, I don’t.” Liam shrugged, offering no kind of explanation and before the blonde could ask, the brunette was speaking again. “So where am I driving to?”

“Uh, I’ve got no idea where we even are.” Niall had been to Harry’s house before, but it had been dark and anyways, Liam had just pulled into a different street and the blonde couldn’t really come up with anything smart to say because he was so confused by all of this. The most worrisome thing probably wasn’t even that he had shaken Liam’s hand on campus or gotten into his car or that the brunette wanted to hang out with him at 11 pm instead of partying with his friends, it was rather that Niall completely trusted him without a second thought.

“Okay, so I can choose then?” He sounded excited for some reason and Niall briefly wondered whether Liam had had all of this planned but then he felt stupid for even just considering it a second later.

“Um, sure.” What was Liam’s plan? Did he just wanna drive somewhere in the middle of the night and… hang out? “You’re not gonna kidnap me, right?”

“If I were I don’t think you could still get out.” Should Niall have gotten worried?

“I could just open the door and jump.” This was so ridiculous, them having a conversation like this as a joke in the middle of the night while Niall had so many questions that he wouldn’t have known which one to ask first if Liam had given him a chance to do so.

“I don’t think you’d manage to run away in case you did.” Liam let out a laugh before suddenly turning on the radio, all casual, and maybe this was just a really, really weird dream or something.

“Should I be worried that you already thought this through or something?” Honestly, IF Liam had planned on kidnapping him, Niall wouldn’t have even minded and that was the sad truth. 

“Niall. I’m not gonna kidnap you.” The other boy tried to sound serious for a moment but he kinda failed, especially when he added the next part. “At least not today.”

“That’s comforting.” When Liam chuckled this time, Niall couldn’t help the smile spreading across his face though he tried really hard to suppress it. He was so gone for Liam it was embarrassing and all these things that had happened during the last few weeks didn’t compare in any way to Liam Payne ditching all his friends just to hang out with Niall in the middle of the night. “Where are we going then?”

“It’s a surprise.” Liam was smirking, Niall didn’t see his face all too well but their eyes met for a second when the brunette turned his head and Niall felt himself getting hot as he immediately looked away, trying to calm down. “Okay, it’s not really a surprise because our options are kinda limited. We’re going to my house.”

“We- _Your_ house?!” WHAT? “Liam, what the hell, I can’t just walk into your house, your parents-“

“My parents aren’t home. They aren’t gonna be home all weekend because they’re on a business trip.” The brunette simply interrupted and Niall immediately felt himself calming down just to panic again a second later. Also, how much had Liam been lying to Harry before exactly?

“What about security cameras? What about your neighbors? What about your dog and-“

“Yeah, my dog’s gonna tell on us, true, my bad. I forgot to tell you, he’s actually a robot dog and also, when you look him straight in the eyes, he’s gonna shoot lasers at you.” This boy was… unbelievable. Was it strange that while freaking the hell out Niall was also falling more in love?

“Can you be serious?” It had come out a bit rude, maybe, but Niall was mostly panicked and Liam was laughing at him anyways, not seeming offended in any way.

“I am being serious, my dad bought him for 10 grand and he was imported from China last year, I actually only made up a name for him so I wouldn’t expose myself when you asked me. So where should we hang out now that we can’t go to my house?” For just a second, only a tiny second, Niall actually considered it because Liam had sounded so damn serious all of a sudden, but then the other boy suddenly started laughing and the blonde rolled his eyes, trying not to smile. “You totally believed that, didn’t you?”

“No, I didn’t, I was just impressed by how quickly you made up all that crap.” Niall shot back, which only seemed to amuse Liam even more. 

“I’ll take that as a compliment. Also, my neighbors won’t see anything because our garage is attached to the house and we don’t actually have security cameras inside. We do have one for the front and the back door, but we’re not going through either of them and I could have just turned them off.” _Could_ have, but he hadn’t planned all of this before he had left his house for the game today, had he? “Are you still nervous now?”

“I wasn’t nervous, I was just… being careful, in case you forgot something.” Also, Niall was so nervous he could actually feel his hands shaking a little bit. “What if somebody saw me getting into your car? Or seen us walking there together? Or shaking hands?”

“No one did, no one was even anywhere close, I wouldn’t have come over otherwise and it was already dark anyways. _And_ I parked the car somewhere else on purpose.” There, he had said it, he had done it on bloody purpose. “’s why I asked you if you were gonna be there before.”

“So you could ask to drive me home?” Niall made it sound like a joke when in reality, he was taking this very, very serious. And apparently, Liam did as well.

“No, so we could hang out.” Liam said it like it was obvious again and the blonde felt an urge to pinch himself just to check if he was really awake or not. “Harry told me he was gonna bring you though. He was all like, _I’m gonna bring the boy who was so afraid of you in the cafeteria so please be nice_.”

“He and Louis will never let me live that down, they _genuinely_ think I’m afraid of you. I was just afraid someone might see us together.” Actually, Niall still didn’t understand how Liam had been so careless when he had simply walked over to their table.

“To be fair though, you did run away quite suddenly.” Liam was again amused by that memory and Niall rolled his eyes even though no one could see it anyways. What he hadn’t expected at all though was Liam making him want to disappear in a hole just a second later. “And you’ve been turning your head away pretty quickly the past two years whenever we saw each other around campus.”

“I… “ Okay, now Niall didn’t have anything smart to say anymore, Liam had said it, just like that, not even making it sound like a question or something the blonde would have needed to comment because they both knew it was true. Did that mean that Liam knew how often Niall had been staring at him? “I just always… I always thought you really hated me or something… “

“Why?” Now that Liam was asking like that and considering the past few weeks and the fact that they were in Liam’s car together, going to his _house_ , Niall did feel like an idiot for ever having thought that, but how had he been supposed to know that before?

“You know why… “ Was there still a need to elaborate on that?

“I know, but I just meant why were you assuming that whatever our dads have going on would make me hate you?” Other question, why would Niall NOT assume that?

“Because… “ The blonde started, thinking about whether he really should have been honest or not, but he wouldn’t have known how else to answer this anyways. “I only know what my parents told me and I don’t know if it’s the truth or not and so I thought, I can’t know what _your_ parents told you about… my family. And since I don’t know even know what the actual truth is... “

Liam stayed quiet for a moment and the blonde actually half expected for Liam to tell him what had really happened, but turned out that he seemed to have no idea either. “I don’t know what really happened, I just know it has nothing to do with us or any of our siblings. I mean, that was like 21 years ago… you and me weren’t even born back then. But I know what you mean, I just always assumed you were terribly afraid anybody would, like, notice if we ever spoke or did as much as look at each other.”

“I kinda am.” No idea how Liam’s family was going to react, but it was scary enough to know what his own family would do. “I mean, I know this sounds really dramatic and stuff, but my parents wouldn’t bat an eye, I think, they’d just throw me out or something, or take away my stuff, or never talk to me again, or maybe all of that. They don’t care if I’m 20 or however old, it’s always been like this and until I can move out… “

“My parents would freak out as well, I don’t know if they’d kick me out, but they’d definitely consider it. Actually… when I was younger, like 10 or something, my dad told me that if I ever spoke to you or your brother I would forever have to sleep in the dog house.” Liam was laughing at that now, but it actually got Niall feeling a bit uncomfortable, to have confirmation that Liam’s family despised him just as much as he had always thought. “So taking you to my house would probably lead to execution or something.”

“I’d show up to your funeral, but I probably wouldn’t live that long either.” Okay, neither of them would have died and it would have really depended on what exactly Niall’s parents found out about, but the blonde was certain that nothing would have been worth living with these consequences. It was still his family after all, even if they didn’t get along too well, and he had nowhere else to go and his job wasn’t paying that well either. And then Liam actually _worked_ for his dad, so he had every right to be afraid also.

“We just gotta make sure no one ever finds out. Good thing I’m such a great planner.” Liam joked, lifting the mood a little bit, just in time for him to pull into his own street. One question remained in Niall’s mind though, one that he would have never dared to ask, why would Liam wanna take the risk anyways? For Niall? It made no sense whatsoever but the blonde wasn’t going to complain obviously, he still thought he was dreaming after all.

Niall thought about ducking down a bit in his seat as Liam drove up to his own house but then didn’t do it after all. The other boy would have only laughed at him and anyways, it was dark outside and it’s not like Liam had never invited anyone to his house, right?

Of course Niall had walked past the house many times before, on the other side of the street of course, but he had never seen it this close and even though it was dark, he was already more than just impressed. Something which Liam seemed to notice for some reason as he pulled into the underground garage. “You alright?”

“Sure.” The blonde tried his best to sound relaxed and carefree, feeling a bit better once the garage door was closed behind them and he saw only one other car inside. Surely, that was Liam’s mom’s car because Niall knew his dad’s car obviously, had even sat in it, so his parents must have been indeed gone. “That’s… a big garage.”

Liam just chuckled as he pulled into one of the empty spaces before turning the engine off, the silence they were being plunged into almost a little bit weird. “I hope you don’t mind Watson jumping up on you, he gets really excited meeting people.”

“Is he gonna knock me over?” That dog was massive after all and Niall got slightly nervous as he got out of the car, waiting for Liam to get his bag that he had thrown onto the backseat before.

“Nah. I’ll catch you if he does.” Okay, what had that wink been supposed to be for? 

Liam locked the car and then unlocked a door, waiting for Niall to walk through before turning off the lights behind them. They had to walk up some stairs before getting into the actual house and Niall hated himself for being so damn excited about seeing the inside, but he couldn’t have helped himself even if he had wanted to. 

There was already some quiet barking and whining before they had even walked into the house and Liam hadn’t at all being joking when he had warned Niall about his dog before. The animal was even bigger up close but seemed to think that it was a lap dog or something. Maybe because of the way Liam was treating him.

“There’s my puppy, hi, I missed you too.” It was actually so cute, Niall was smiling like an idiot watching Liam getting on his knees and trying to turn his head away whenever Watson was trying to lick him, whining and jumping around as if he hadn’t seen the brunette in ten years. “Look who I brought.”

Niall only stumbled a tiny bit when Watson half jumped up on him, but Liam made sure to pull him off, telling him to sit down and surprisingly enough, he did, giving the blonde the chance to pet his head and scratch behind his ears. “He’s really cute. And bigger than I thought.” 

“Hold out your hand.” Not sure why, Niall did as he had been told, still leaning down a bit, being impressed quite a bit when Watson actually lifted his front leg so Niall could shake it. “I taught him that, took me like 2 weeks and 10 packs of treats.”

“Very impressive.” Niall was laughing but he actually really meant it. Plus, Liam seemed to be super proud of himself and now that the lights were on and Niall could properly look at him, he was swooning even more so he made sure to quickly look away again, petting Liam’s dog some more. 

“Okay then, do you want anything? Food? Water? Beer? A house tour?” For some reason, Liam was being super energetic so Niall stood up straight again, trying to be subtle as he looked around the entrance hall. And it really was a hall somehow, with a big chandelier and two sets of stairs like in a real mansion or something. Damn, he would have _loved_ a house tour.

“Um, I don’t know.” Letting out a nervous laugh, Niall couldn’t help himself as he started biting his thumb nail, not wanting to be rude or weird, so he decided that letting Liam decide what to do was probably best. 

“’kay, I’ll get you a beer then, so you can stop being nervous.” Apparently, the brunette found that hilarious and Niall rolled his eyes as he followed him, feeling himself getting a bit blushed though because he WAS a bit nervous and Liam was very well aware of it. How was he supposed to be all calm though? In this house? With Liam around?

The brunette left his sports bag by the stairs before they walked into the kitchen, Niall a bit behind him, both looking around but also staring at Liam’s ass in those sweatpants for a moment, and his back in that tight shirt and by the time they reached the fridge, he already felt like a real creep. 

“Here, we only got this one, sorry.” Somehow, there were two fridges in that kitchen and though maybe the blonde should have expected it, he was still a bit confused.

“Thanks… why’d you have two fridges?” Taking the beer bottle that Liam had opened for him, Niall quickly took a big gulp in hopes that it would help him calm down a bit. Everything in here was so clean looking, as if nobody even lived here.

“Ones for food and ones for drinks.” Liam explained as if he was telling Niall how to cook water. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Um, I don’t know. Aren’t you only… three people?” Liam had two sisters, Niall knew that of course but they were all moved out already because they were a lot older.

“Yes, but my parents have people over all the time. And our cook-“

“You have a _cook_?” Okay, maybe that had been rude as hell and stupid, but Niall couldn’t have helped himself, because… what the hell?

“Yeah, um… sorry, I sound really upper class right now, don’t I?” For maybe the first time, Liam actually seemed to be a bit embarrassed, which gave Niall a weird boost of confidence as he nodded.

“Like a proper snob.” The blonde joked, regretting it for half a second before Liam was laughing, taking his beer before leading the way through the kitchen, both Niall and Watson following him.

“Okay, then, snobby as I am, I’ll show you the rest of the house.” Thank god, he wasn’t angry or anything, but then again, it seemed kind of impossible to piss Liam off somehow. 

“You mean your mansion?” Niall was only kidding but he was honestly really impressed when they walked into the living room that was probably bigger than the entire ground floor of Niall’s parents’ house.

“I don’t think it classifies as a mansion. I mean, I don’t know the requirements or anything.” Was he being serious right now?

“I was only joking, Liam.” They looked at each other for a moment, right in the eyes, which immediately prompted Niall to take another sip of beer.

“I know.” The brunette chuckled, all of a sudden softly pushing at the blonde’s shoulder, which sent a shiver through Niall’s body that the brunette hopefully hadn’t noticed. “Alright, that’s the living room, here are embarrassing pictures of me as a child, that’s my dad’s collection of golf bats even though he only played once, that’s Watson’s bed that he’s never touched but my mom thinks it looks decorative and that over there is a piano that no one in my family can actually play.”

“You should become a tour guide or something.” Niall mumbled, feeling a bit proud when Liam was laughing at his _joke_. “Why can none of you play a piano?”

“My sisters and I all had lessons but we weren’t really gifted enough for my parents and they thought it was a waste of money. So now they always hire someone to play whenever they have parties.” Right, that did sound like a proper posh family, but Niall decided not to say anything. “So, actually, it’s a blessing that none of us can play because we surely wouldn’t get paid. Can you play?”

“No, why’d you think that?” Niall was a bit surprised by that question, actually, they were still standing in the living room and the blonde was actually more interested in the pictures of Liam as a child rather than the piano.

“I don’t know, because you asked.” Liam shrugged, leaning down to scratch Watson’s head before moving on with his tour. “Do you play another instrument?”

“Actually, yeah. I play the guitar, but I taught myself, so… I don’t know.” No idea why Niall had told him that, it made him quite nervous to be honest, especially because whenever he would mention that to people, they always tended to ask him to play for them. Good thing Liam had a piano and not a guitar in his house.

“Seriously? That’s pretty cool.” When their eyes met, Niall could barely stand to look at Liam, not when he had that strangely soft smile on his face, as if he genuinely thought that that was pretty cool. Maybe he did? “I can’t play anything.”

“You can play football.” Niall offered, only now realizing that they had never talked about the game and that he also had never congratulated Liam on the win but it actually seemed a bit too late for that now. It’s just, with all of this going on and being in Liam’s bloody house, petting his dog and stuff, everything else in this world seemed so far away, especially a football game or also the ten text messages from Louis on Niall’s phone. 

“Yeah, but I don’t know if I’ll still be on the team next year, it’s really time consuming, especially all the trainings we do. As you know.” When he added the last part, he was looking at Niall with a grin and the blonde wanted to be annoyed but he couldn’t actually manage to only pretend. 

“They’re gonna lose every game if you leave though.” Right, that had been the wrong thing to say, Niall was immediately embarrassed by it, but he had meant it after all.

“You think?” Liam seemed to be very happy with that statement, and a little bit proud as well. “I mean, I already knew that, but I’d love to hear you confirm that again.”

“Oh, shut up, it was clear for everyone to see.” Especially for Niall because he had only been watching Liam anyways, but for real, he had been the one doing most of the work, the blonde was just embarrassed now because Liam was clearly only joking to make him even more blushed than he already was. “You scored like… 10 goals.”

“You counted?” Fuck.

“No, I mean, like, your team only had 12 goals in total, and anyways, it was Harry who counted, really annoying, kept yelling into my ear and stuff… right, what’s that? A basement for more parties?” Okay, Niall could already feel the beer a tiny little bit, but he was also desperate to get out of this situation, even if that meant that he was being slightly weird just pointing to a random door, but Liam seemed to be amused anyways, even more so when he immediately shut the blonde up by answering.

“No, it’s our home cinema. I wasn’t actually gonna show you that because I thought I already sound enough like I just wanna brag, but… “ So Liam walked over while Niall was just standing there, watching him opening the door, being surprised one more time because he had actually thought that maybe it had just been a joke. It hadn’t been. “You alright?”

“Yeah, I’m… good.” Maybe somehow Niall got it now, maybe he really understood now why his dad hated Liam’s dad so much, to think that Niall’s family hadn’t been able to afford food at one point while Liam’s had been sitting in a home cinema. Then again, how would Niall know who had been responsible for that fight? And maybe his dad hadn’t even contributed anything to the business anyways. “Do you go in there often?”

“Sometimes, yeah, but… it’s weird if you’re all by yourself and stuff, it’s a bit… creepy.” Liam shrugged, making sure to close the door again and Niall was kinda glad because he actually didn’t really wanna think about how rich Liam’s family was exactly. “We can go to my room if you want.”

“Yeah, sure.” Niall’s voice had gotten a bit higher, which Liam had undoubtedly noticed, but he only commented it with a smile while the blonde was blushing again, drinking some more beer as he followed the brunette.

He had seen his room before, in various pictures on social media, but the brunette obviously wasn’t allowed to know that so Niall was really hoping his face wasn’t going to give him away. Then again, Liam’s room wasn’t THAT impressive, it was big, but it certainly wasn’t as clean as the rest of the house and it seemed more homely somehow. But maybe that was only because it was Liam Payne’s room and Niall could barely believe that he was standing in the middle of it.

“You have your own bathroom?” Obviously he did, the door was open and Niall wondered how he had never noticed that from all the pictures Liam had posted. 

“Yeah… actually, that was one of my sister’s rooms before she moved out, I didn’t have one before. But it’s pretty cool, and my mom can’t get mad anymore whenever I’m washing Watson and he’s getting everything wet. Right, buddy?” Liam waited until Watson was in his room as well before closing the door, making Niall felt a lot more comfortable actually because in the back of his mind he had constantly had that ‘What if Liam’s family comes home unexpectedly’ feeling. “Ignore the pictures on the wall over there and also… ignore that.”

Before Niall could ask, Liam had kicked something underneath his bed that had looked a lot like some dirty underwear and the blonde could barely hold back a grin. It was really funny, Liam worrying about stuff like that in Niall’s presence, as if he somehow cared what the blonde thought about him. “You know I have to definitely look at those pictures now, right?”

“I was afraid you would.” Liam sighed, kinda playfully though and he didn’t actually seem to mind all too much when Niall walked across the room to look at the pictures the brunette had pointed at before. “I was gonna, like, put something else there, but I didn’t know what, so I just left them there. Makes it look like a teenager’s room kinda, but whatever.”

“I mean, you don’t have to be a teenager to put up pictures with your friends, but I gotta admit that one looks a bit funny.” Niall shouldn’t have been inspecting those pictures of Liam being between the ages of maybe 11 and 17 so closely, but he couldn’t help himself. In between those photos, the brunette also had pictures of like, singers he seemed to like and the blonde tried to make a mental note of all of them. 

“Yeah, that’s me and Harry actually, when we were… 13, I think?” There was no doubt that Liam looked completely different now, but Harry…

“ _That_ is Harry?!” If anyone had been allowed to know that Niall and Liam were hanging out, the blonde would have definitely taken a picture of that photo with his phone just to get on Harry’s nerves for once as well. Sadly though, he would have immediately given himself away. “I would have never recognized him.”

“But you would have recognized me?” Liam laughed, leaving Niall to look at the pictures and walking over to his bed where Watson had already spread himself out. Niall wondered whether the dog actually slept in Liam’s bed or not because it kinda looked like it.

“Well, one of them had to be you, you wouldn’t put up pictures of people without you being in them. Well… except for that one.” The one Niall was referring to was a picture of a girl, one Niall didn’t know but he still couldn’t help his stomach twisting a bit. He needed to stop looking at these pictures, it was definitely getting creepy.

“You mean the girl? I dated her when I was 17 and I put that picture up with pretty strong tape.” He said it, just like that, unfortunately right when they were looking at each other.

“Ah, okay.” Was all Niall replied before quickly drinking some more beer, trying not to think about how weird that was, for Liam to still have that picture up. Not as weird as Niall getting jealous over it probably. “So… you’re keeping pictures of your ex’s?”

“Yeah, that’s why Harrys on there as well.” Wait… what?!

“You… you’re joking.” Niall’s mouth had literally dropped as he stared at Liam, who was sitting on the bed, all calmly, petting his dog while the blonde was standing in the middle of the room, trying to take this in. This couldn’t be real, he couldn’t have… Harry?! 

“Why would I be joking?” Liam seemed to be all serious, looking the blonde straight in the eyes. What the hell?! “He’s very handsome, I’m sure your friend would agree.”

“I don’t believe you.” More, Niall didn’t WANT to believe it. 

“What’s so unbelievable about it?” EVERYTHING?!

“I’ve only ever… you’re always with girls and… Harry would have told me, he told me his entire life story and… you don’t even… you’re nothing alike.” Okay, Niall was rambling, he just didn’t know what to say anymore because he was so bloody confused and shocked. So did that mean… both Liam AND Louis had preferred Harry’s company over Niall’s, at least at some point? 

“I’ve been with guys as well.” Liam shrugged, still being all serious about it and Niall couldn’t even get excited about what the brunette had just said because he wasn’t done taking it in. “But not openly, my parents are… not very supportive.” 

“I… I’m sorry.” What else was Niall supposed to say?! He actually planned on not saying anything at all anymore, but he just couldn’t help himself. “So, you and Harry… “

“Yes?” The brunette was blinking all innocently, as if he didn’t mind the questions, as if he _wanted_ Niall to ask them. This wasn’t real, it couldn’t be.

“Does Louis know?” Wasn’t it Niall’s duty to say something?!

“Probably not, not sure. You can tell him if you want, I don’t care, but maybe ask Harry first.” Right, and how exactly was Niall gonna do that? _Hey, Harry, by the way, I was at Liam’s house last night and he told me everything about you guys dating, is it cool if I tell your boyfriend?_

“I won’t ask Harry anything at all.” It came out really harsh but Niall didn’t care, he was upset now, no denying. What did Harry have then that Niall didn’t have? “I don’t even know him that well.”

Liam didn’t answer, he just kept on watching the blonde from the bed, which Niall barely registered because he was busy trying to come to terms with this while emptying his beer bottle. He could have really needed something stronger now.

“I mean… that’s just… Harry can’t be that great? That _everyone_ wants to date him? I mean… it’s fine, I just… I’m really surprised and also… he should have told Louis, he just introduced you guys and… he can tell me all this weird shit about his family but he can’t tell me _that_.” Niall couldn’t stop himself, he was more talking to himself than to Liam and deep down he knew he was going to regret saying all of this out loud, but… WHAT?! “Not that… that it’s weird that you’re dating boys, I just… it’s all just a weird coincidence… that you and Louis both… “

“Fuck.” Liam sounded surprised when he said it, getting Niall more than confused when he suddenly let out a laugh and the blonde finally looked at him again, his cheeks feeling hot rather from anger than embarrassment. “You’re so jealous.”

“ _Jealous?_ I’m not jealous, I was… thinking out loud.” Fuck this, Niall needed to go home, like, what was he even doing here? It was probably close to midnight already.

“Did you have a crush on Louis? Before Harry came along?” Okay, why the hell would Liam wanna know that?

“No?! Why would you think that?” He genuinely had never had a crush on his best friend, yeah, Niall had been jealous, but not because HE had wanted to date Louis.

“Harry told me you’ve been avoiding him for months and that you and Louis were a lot closer bef-“

“I avoided him because of _you_.” It had slipped out and even though it was the truth, Niall really regretted it as he bit his tongue, turning his head away from Liam, who had raised his eyebrows. “I mean… not entirely, also because I was a bit annoyed, but… it’s not because I ever had a crush on Louis or anything. Anyways, why did Harry tell you all of that?”

“Because I asked.” Liam shrugged before suddenly getting up from the bed, walking so close to Niall that the blonde froze up only to take the empty beer bottle out of his hand, their fingers brushing for a second. “Sorry, I didn’t wanna make you upset, it’s none of my business.”

“It’s fine, uh… I was just… surprised.” No idea how Niall was going to deal with that now, knowing that Liam and Harry AND Louis… 

“Okay.” When Liam walked across the room to put their beer bottles on his desk, Niall thought they were just done with this whole topic now, that Liam would maybe offer to drive him home or something, which would have been for the best, but he didn’t do that. “So what was that outburst about then if you’re not jealous?”

“I was just surprised, I told you.” Fuck, Niall was so jealous right now he could barely contain himself, in fact, he went to sit on Liam’s bed without asking so he could pet Watson for a bit and try to calm down, clear his mind. 

“Hmm.” Liam was such an idiot really, Niall couldn’t believe he was falling deeper in love with him every passing second, but he definitely was. “So if I told you I never dated Harry at all and that girl on the picture is my sister, you wouldn’t at all feel a bit better?”

“I… “ He had played Niall, AGAIN, turning around with a really stupid smirk on his face that the blonde wanted to slap him for. If he hadn’t felt this embarrassed that is. 

“Oh my god, you really thought I dated Harry? Harry?!” Now Liam was laughing while Niall was just sitting on his bed, not wanting to feel relieved but he still felt more relieved than he ever had before. “You were so jealous, holy shit.”

“Can you stop saying that?” The blonde was trying be upset because it was easier than admitting to Liam that he had indeed been jealous as hell. Not because of Louis though, this had nothing to do with his best friend at all. “Why do you always make up all these things?”

“I just wanted to see your reaction is all, I didn’t think you’d take it this seriously, sorry.” Liam was still chuckling to himself, suddenly sitting down next to the blonde and Niall actually thought about moving away a bit but they were almost touching so he stayed where he was, not planning on opening his mouth again anytime soon. “It wasn’t all a joke though, I-“

“I won’t believe a single thing that you say now, just so you know.” So much about keeping quiet. 

“Okay, but I did actually date boys before, ‘s fine if you don’t believe me that, I guess.” Oh. 

“I, um… I believe that. I’m still mad though.” Not really, Niall was actually mad at himself, for exposing himself like that, because now Liam was surely questioning why the blonde had reacted so heavily to all of this, maybe he had even guessed now that Niall had a crush on him or something. They would never hang out again after today, would they?

“I’m sorry.” His apology sounded half hearted as he gently bumped his elbow into the blonde’s ribs and Niall didn’t understand what was going on anymore. “I couldn’t have known you’d react this heavily to me dating other people.”

“What? That, uh, that has nothing to do with you, at all.” Niall lied straight through his teeth, but he knew his face was already getting blotchy and his ears were feeling hot and maybe he should have just gone home now. Also, why was Liam so amused by this? Wasn’t he supposed to be, like, weirded out and stuff?

“If you say so.” Liam was so careless about the possibility of Niall liking him that it only confused the other boy even more. “If it did have something to do with me though … you can tell me, it’s fine.”

“It didn’t. And I gotta use the bathroom.” Niall hated himself for this, for always running away from things, but he couldn’t be having this conversation with Liam, not like this and not here and anyways, it didn’t mean anything. Liam was probably used to people crushing on him, maybe he wanted to give Niall a pep talk or some shit, try to tell him that he was sorry and that even though he apparently had dated boys, Niall wasn’t his type and blahblah. The blonde didn’t need that kind of rejection.

He spent more time in Liam’s bathroom than he needed to, finally texting back Louis and once again straight up lying about his whereabouts. When Niall was finally ready to go back into Liam’s room, he had planned out what he was going to say, how he was going to ask Liam to drive him home, but he couldn’t have expected the other boy to be lying on bed with the TV turned on, pointing to the remote next to him when he saw Niall.

“You can choose what we’re watching, as apology.” Honestly, how could anyone have stayed upset with Liam when he was smiling like that?

 

\------------

 

Niall had known that he wasn’t going to go home tonight for quite some time, so he didn’t even think about waking Liam when the other boy fell asleep at around 3 in the morning. The blonde stayed awake for quite a while, trying to let everything that had happened sink in, try to come to terms with it but it was a lot harder than expected.

The blonde could have gone to lie on Liam’s couch and sleep there, but it’s not like Liam had to know that he hadn’t randomly fallen asleep as well, right? The chances of them ever being more than friends were darn slim and if anything, Niall wanted to at least be able to say he had once slept in the same bed as Liam. Even with an arm length in between them.

Tonight had, hands down, been the most exciting but also weirdest thing to happen to Niall, maybe ever. He was in Liam Payne’s house, in his _bed_ , while Liam was asleep next to him and most possibly knew that Niall had a huge ass crush on him. Totally normal.

Niall woke up at some point to somebody sniffing his face and it took a moment for him to realize that it was Liam’s dog and that he was still in the brunette’s bed, having stayed there the entire night. For the split of a moment, Niall wasn’t thinking about anything except for the fact that he had never in his life been this excited, right before he realized that last night, Liam had basically discovered that Niall was pretty much in love with him.

“Watson, get off him, c’mon.” Oh good, so Liam was awake and it was god knows how late and thank god Niall only had work at 7 in the evening. “Sorry… are you awake?”

“Now I am… “ Niall mumbled, rubbing his eyes before attempting to sit up, his whole body feeling kind of stiff. He had taken one of the blankets Liam had had on his bed, but he obviously hadn’t taken off his jeans so now he was feeling kind of gross. “How late is it?”

“Hmmm… 1 in the afternoon or something. I’ve only been awake for like, half an hour or so. Didn’t you say you have to work today? I wasn’t sure and I didn’t wanna wake you for nothing.” Fuck, Liam was so gorgeous looking right now, just sitting on the other side of the bed, still in the same clothes as yesterday, which was fine for him because he had obviously showered and changed after the game, whereas Niall… 

“I only have to be there in 6 hours or something, so… “ The blonde shrugged, looking around for his phone for a moment only to realize that it had run out of charge. “Do you have… a charger?”

“Yeah, give me your phone.” Unsurprisingly, Liam had enough chargers to charge both of their phones at the same time, and luckily for Niall, they were across the room so he could stare at the brunette some more in case last night hadn’t been enough. He had even seen Liam sleeping, but then again, a lot of people were probably able to say that. “So… I realized we have a problem.”

“What’s, uh, what’s the problem?” Also, Niall could have thought about more than just ONE.

“Turns out that… you know, that my plan has a few holes.” Liam was laughing as he came back, but he was looking at Niall as if he was afraid the blonde might have gotten mad at him. Well, he couldn’t know that Niall had gone to sleep in his bed on pure purpose. 

“I mean, that can happen to any great planner, right?” Niall joked, feeling a bit too proud when he made the brunette smile at him as he sat down on the bed again. 

“I suppose. It’s just… it’s pretty light outside now and no, my parents aren’t coming back sooner, but the cleaning lady is and I can tell her not to come into room, except… you can’t leave my room, for a few more hours at least, because… she’s already downstairs.” Sounded like the opposite of a problem to Niall but he had to at least pretend to be a little upset. “I’m sorry, I really wasn’t thinking about her at all and she’s gonna tell my parents if she sees you and then I’m gonna have to pretend I know other people that look just like you and-“

“It’s fine.” Niall interrupted when he realized that Liam was getting a little bit too much into this. Maybe HE didn’t want Niall to be here for a few more hours? “I mean, unless you had something planned or so and can’t leave because of me, we could like, try to sneak past her or… or I get out through the window.”

“I don’t think you dying in my garden would be so unsuspicious.” At least Liam was laughing so Niall joined, still feeling a bit bad now though thinking that the brunette wanted to get rid of him. “But no, I didn’t have anything planned at all, I don’t mind if you stay here. You can even stay until you have to go to work, in fact, that’d probably make things easier because it’s gonna get dark again by that time and I can just drive you.”

“If… if you don’t mind.” Okay, now that changed things a whole lot. Liam wanted Niall to stay… for 6 more hours? 

“Nah, it’s fine. You can also use the shower if you want and, like, borrow some clothes.” Somehow, the brunette sounded really motivated all of a sudden and he was even smiling and everything as if he had gone to sleep on pure purpose as well last night. 

“Do I stink that much?” The blonde joked, but only because he needed some time to process what Liam had just said, about Niall borrowing some of his clothes and using his shower, like he obviously couldn’t have ever gone out wearing anything that Liam owned, but he didn’t have to leave for about six hours. 

“Yeah, sorry, didn’t wanna tell you like that, but… “ The brunette pulled a face at Niall, actually sounding serious for a moment and the blonde already started to feel a little bit self conscious. “Oh, c’mon, I was joking, Niall. I can go and get us something to eat from the kitchen if you want.”

“Sounds like I’m a prisoner or something.” It really did somehow sound like that and the blonde should have definitely not gotten this excited about it.

“Maybe you are.” With that, Liam got up off the bed, seemingly not spending one single thought on leaving Niall in his room all by himself, as if he didn’t care just one bit if the blonde started snooping around. Not that he was going to, but it was kinda nice to know Liam was kinda trusting him. “There are towels in the cupboard if you want to shower and you can just… actually, just take anything from my closet, it’s whatever.”

“Okay… thanks.” Niall managed a smile right before Liam left his room, closing the door behind himself and luckily leaving Watson with Niall because he made the blonde feel a bit less nervous.

It still felt like a bloody dream somehow, but now that Niall was alone and actually had time to pinch himself pretty hard, it couldn’t have been one. Somehow, the blonde really wanted to tell Louis about all of this, or _anybody_ for that matter, but then he’d also have to admit his pathetic crush and just… no, thanks.

Niall didn’t hesitate for too long before going over to Liam’s closet because he really did wanna have a shower actually and maybe not sit around all day wearing jeans. So the blonde pulled out something that looked like sweatpants that possibly weren’t going to fit him so he took his own clothes with him to the bathroom as well.

It was so fucking strange, to be in here all by himself after having seen it on pictures and stuff, actually taking a bloody shower in Liam Payne’s bathroom, the boy he was supposed to hate. But how was Niall supposed to hate him? Even if he hadn’t been crushing on him since two years, even if he had actually known the entire truth, how did anybody expect Niall to randomly hate Liam when he was being this incredibly nice and sweet and funny?

Well, he did have a thing for making Niall believe things just for them to turn out to be a joke. Niall still didn’t know whether that girl on Liam’s wall was actually his sister, but it was fine if it really had been his ex as long as he hadn’t fucking dated Harry. Why had Liam been so desperate to see if he could make Niall jealous? Had he already suspected that the blonde kinda had a thing for him?

That question did bother Niall a lot while he was in Liam’s shower, but he tried to hurry up, not wanting to take ages even though he could have easily done that. The shower was massive, as was pretty much everything in this house, and even the towels seemed to be softer than they should have been but that was probably Niall’s imagination running wild.

The blonde was kinda relieved to find he was quicker than Liam and that the brunette’s sweatpants did fit him just fine. While waiting for Liam to return, Niall made sure to check his phone while it was still charging, telling his mum that he had stayed at a friend’s house even though none of his parents had asked about his whereabouts anyways. 

“Okay, I had no bloody idea what you like, so… “ Liam only spoke up as soon as he had closed the door behind himself again, carrying a whole ton of food in his arms. “Didn’t think we were the same size.”

“What? Oh, yeah… thanks for all this.“ Niall had completely forgotten about borrowing Liam’s clothes, putting his phone down when the brunette put everything he had brought from the kitchen down on his bed. Honestly, Niall was terrified about dropping anything on these sheets, but he wasn’t gonna say that because it didn’t seem like Liam would have cared. “How’d you sneak all that past your cleaning lady?”

“I’m a growing boy, I gotta eat.” The brunette joked, handing Niall an empty glass. “Sorry, I only got orange juice, couldn’t make any tea or so, but we can go down later when we’re alone.”

“’s fine, I don’t like tea too much anyways.” No idea why Niall had just said that because it wasn’t really true, maybe he was just trying to keep that stupidly gorgeous smile on the older’s face for as long as possible. 

So they ate whatever Liam had brought upstairs, on his freaking bed, Watson staying surprisingly calm but the brunette did let his dog out of his room after a while when he went to sit by the door. Apparently he had been outside with him and fed him while Niall had still been asleep, making the blonde question whether Liam had really only been awake for 30 minutes longer than him. Then again, did that really matter?

“Did you tell anyone that you’re here?” Liam was asking out of nowhere while they were still busy eating and had fallen quiet for a moment. Not an uncomfortable silence though, they just had had their mouths full.

“No, who would I tell?” Niall almost choked as he tried to swallow quickly so he could answer, a little bit taken aback by that question.

“I don’t know. Louis?” Right, because Louis was probably the only person Liam saw Niall hanging out with, which was kinda sad but also somehow true.

“No, I didn’t. Did you?” Looking at Liam, Niall immediately knew what his answer was going to be and he’d be lying to say that he was kinda happy about it. He didn’t know Liam’s friends, except for Harry, so how could he have ever trusted them to keep their mouths shut?

“Nah. I’m sure somebody would accidentally say something or… actually, if I told anyone it’d probably be Harry. But I won’t say anything unless asking you first, don’t worry.” Actually, Niall hadn’t been worried until Liam had just said that. 

“It’d be complicated to explain anyways, I mean, the whole thing… I wanted to tell Louis a few times in the past, but… “ But then Niall had chickened out last second, each and every time. 

“What do you mean? Like, why’d you wanna tell him the whole story before we ever talked?” Right, that had been a stupid thing to say, it only made it more obvious that Liam had been on Niall’s mind for bloody _years_. 

“Uuuuh… I don’t know. Just because.” Niall needed to shut his damn mouth.

“Okay?” Liam laughed but it sounded kinda unsure and the blonde made sure not to look him in the eyes, slowly chewing on some bread that tasted surprisingly good. “Were you thinking about me that much?”

“Has anyone ever told you that you’re really vain?” Fuck, Niall’s cheeks were burning hot right now and he was absolutely sure Liam was aware of that because he laughed at the blonde’s joke, rather loudly as well.

“Okay, so I’m vain and I’m a snob, what else have you got?” Bloody gorgeous? 

“You’re a decent driver, I guess.” The blonde joked, just to distract from his blushed face a little bit. Fuck, he was so stupid, why was he giving himself away all the time?!

“Decent, yeah?” Liam sounded highly amused, he had raised his eyebrows when Niall looked up briefly, trying not to feel too flustered.

“Yeah, but you’re still allowed to drive me to work later.” He tried to sound confident and stuff, but it probably didn’t really come out that way and the blonde actually wanted to punch himself in the bloody face. 

“Thank you so much, I was already getting scared.” It was amazing really, how much and how often Niall was making Liam laugh, he had never thought himself to be funny, but apparently Liam seemed to think otherwise. “Can you drive?”

“Uh, no. We only have one car and I never saw a reason to get a license, I guess.” Also, Niall was poor, but he didn’t need to tell Liam that, right? It wasn’t a secret anyways. “Also, it’s not like this town is so big.”

“Sadly, yeah.” Was he thinking the same as Niall right now? “Well, if you ever need a ride when you’re drunk and throwing up at a party, you know who to call.”

“Do you often do that? Like, pick your friends up when they’re getting smashed?” Fuck, Harry’s party already seemed ages ago in Niall’s mind, if he had known what was going to happen if he went there… he wouldn’t have made such an effort to try to talk himself out of it. 

“Not really. I mean, usually I’m out with them, but then I usually drive them home, I don’t really drink that much.” He shrugged and Niall was a little bit surprised but chose not to say anything because it somehow made sense. Liam’s parents were kinda posh and they were business people and obviously they wouldn’t want their son to be throwing up at house parties. “You?”

“Me? I don’t go out that much… me ‘nd Louis used to, but… not anymore.” It wasn’t only because of Harry, they had also gotten older and Niall wasn’t really into going out and drinking anymore anyways. Plus, if he would have gone out every week he would have constantly been broke. 

“What do you like to do then?” Liam didn’t ask like in a joking way, but he actually sounded really serious, looking at Niall as if he was trying to stare straight into his soul or something. 

“What, in general? Um, I like playing golf, or I used to, now I mostly watch, I guess. I like watching movies and like, play guitar, I don’t know, not that interesting.” Now Niall was a bit embarrassed, letting out a very forced laugh before he made sure to fill his mouth with orange juice again.

“That’s a lot more than I do.” Liam shrugged, not as if he had just said it to make Niall feel better or anything, but the blonde felt a little bit better anyways. “What do you wanna do after uni?”

“I haven’t really thought that much about it, if I’m being honest… when I was younger I really wanted to be an astronaut though.” No idea why Niall had just said that, maybe because Liam always sounded so interested in everything he had to say.

“Seriously? Why?” Again, the brunette was looking Niall straight in the eyes, which was really hard for the blonde because Liam had such gorgeous eyes, really dreamy, as stupid as that sounded. 

“Because I like space.” It was true, even though Niall had practically been _obsessed_ when he had been younger, he had also had a lot more time on his hands back then. 

“Yeah?” Waiting for the blonde to nod, Liam’s smile suddenly came back for whatever reason, but before the brunette could have said anything else, there was a sharp knock at the door that caused both of them to jump.

“Mr. Payne, your dog-“

“One second!” Liam called out, throwing an apologetic look at the blonde before making his way to the door, only opening it wide enough to let Watson back inside while Niall’s heart was beating so fast he was afraid it was going to stop or something. “Thanks, I’m doing my room myself.”

Niall was so fucking relieved when Liam closed that door again and came back to the bed, he was just hoping that the cleaning lady hadn’t heard them talking through the walls or anything. Then again, Liam was allowed to have friends over, right?

“Sorry ‘bout that.” Before Niall could answer, he was a little bit surprised by Liam’s dog jumping on the bed and immediately putting his head on the blonde’s lap as if he had known Niall since years or something. “Oh, wow, he really seems to like you.”

“Why do you sound so surprised? I thought you said he likes meeting strangers.” Now Niall was a bit unsure while he was scratching behind Watson’s ear, feeling a lot calmer again. 

“Um, well… not always, he can be careful, but you didn’t seem like you were afraid or anything, so… and he likes you anyways.” Liam shrugged and the blonde pretended to be fake shocked.

“You would have just let me walk in and be attacked by your massive dog?” Seriously though, it wouldn’t have made Niall wanna leave either. “I’m appalled.” 

“He wouldn’t have _attacked_ you and I would have caught you, I told you.” Damn, maybe Niall would have liked Watson to run him over, just to have Liam’s arms wrapped around him just once. “But hey, as apology I’m gonna order us some food later.”

“Is that supposed to make me feel better?” Just pretending to be upset with Liam was hard, if they had ever had a fight, how would Niall have managed to stay angry for just one second? 

“I don’t know… is it?” When Liam asked, he had those stupid puppy eyes and that pout on his face that made the blonde’s heart stop and he actually had to clear his throat, shake his head and look away to be able to think straight again. 

Being here with Liam felt as if it was their usual thing to do, as if they had been friends for ages or something and though all the sneaking around made Niall a little bit nervous, being around Liam made well up for that. They didn’t have any problems talking about stuff and finding something to do all day long, moving downstairs at some point once they were by themselves again.

Niall grew more comfortable with the brunette the more time they spent together, making him forget about whatever had happened the night before. If Liam was bothered by knowing Niall had a crush on him, he certainly did not let it show or try to keep distance between them or anything else. In fact, he didn’t seem all that happy either when he finally drove Niall to work hours later.

“How long do you have to work for?” They were still in the car and Niall was searching through his bag to find the keys for his locker because he was almost running late and Liam had stopped in a different street so no one would see them.

“Um, until 1 in the morning.” Not too long actually, Niall had had longer shifts, definitely. 

“Text me when you get home?” Had Liam seriously just asked that?

“Sure.” Niall was surprised but at the same time he felt warmth spreading in his stomach as he briefly smiled at the brunette, finally finding his keys. “Thanks for driving me, and for the food, and for letting me stay over.”

“No problem. We should do that again some time.” No matter if he meant it or not, it still made the blonde feel all giddy as he nodded before pushing the door of the passenger side open, already having one foot on the sidewalk when Liam spoke up again, as if he had had to think about it first. “Because of our pretend study sessions on Monday… would you be okay with going somewhere else instead?”

“I… I’m okay with anything.” Wow, how desperate exactly could Niall sound? He wasn’t actually sure if he had heard that correctly, if it meant what he thought it meant and… had Liam called it _pretend_ study sessions?

“Okay, great. See you then.” Liam sounded very happy about that answer and the blonde was confused as hell as he got out of the car but he had probably never wanted to go to work as little as right now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey everyone!!! thank you so much for so many lovely comments and kudos, i was really surprised but im so happy youre all enjoying the fic!!! :D
> 
> i had a lot of fun writing this chapter, i know i said i dont wanna drag out them getting to know each other too long (and i wont!) but i felt like it was important to write this chapter and make it just the two of them and how they act around each other/how they talk etc, so i hope you all enjoyed it! :)
> 
> <3


	4. Chapter 4

“Niall, come back here for a second.“ The blonde froze with his hand already on the doorknob, feeling his heart beating a tiny bit faster when his father called him over into the kitchen. Ever since he had switched jobs and wasn’t working anymore in the mornings whenever the blonde was getting ready to go to uni, they’ve had a few uncomfortable encounters.

Niall didn’t say anything, he just walked back into the kitchen, trying to ignore his brother sitting at the table with his dad and grinning stupidly into his cereal. That alone would have been enough for Niall to panic, but then combined with his father’s voice and the look on his face, he kinda wanted to just run outside. 

“Do you know a Harry… what was his name?” He could have already stopped there, Niall wanted to strangle his brother right now as their dad looked at him to check for Harry’s bloody last name. Fuck, this had been bound to happen.

“Harry Styles.” Greg had the biggest smirk ever on his face, if there was one thing he loved doing, it was getting Niall in trouble. To be fair, over the years the blonde had done the exact same thing, but he was really trying hard lately to just keep his brother’s existence out of his mind completely.

“Umm… yeah?” Niall tried to pretend that he wasn’t sure, that he was confused about this conversation. As if that would have helped.

“Don’t play dumb now, Niall, it only makes it worse.” Clearly. 

“I’m not playing dumb, why do you care about him?” Was it even believable if Niall said he had no idea that Harry and Liam were friends? Maybe, considering how fucking stupid his brother was.

“I hear he’s friends with that Payne boy and if that’s the case then you need to stay the fuck away from him, are we clear? Have you not listened just _once_ when I was talking about that bastard?! His whole family is a disgrace and the reason your mother and I are both working two jobs just to be able to keep that house for the two of you. So if you wanna be ungrateful and go behind your families back because you think it’s funny then you can go upstairs right now and pack your bags.” See, and that was only because of Harry, what would have happened if Greg had seen Niall and Liam hanging out? Getting into the same car?

“Harry doesn’t even like Liam, he’s just afraid of him.” The blonde was at least trying, right? What else could he have done?

“He’s talking to the enemy no matter if he enjoys it or not.” Greg threw in, as if they were in some crime show or something and Niall wanted to roll his eyes at him but he decided it was best to not interact in any way. “Also, dad, did I tell you that that Styles guy is dating Louis Tomlinson?”

“What? And I’m only hearing about this _now?!_ ” Fuck, Niall really needed to go to uni and how was he supposed to stay away from Harry, he was always bloody there! Luckily Niall’s dad had known Louis long before he had found out that he was dating a boy, so then he had been in a conflict and finally decided that Louis was probably just going through a phase. 

“They’re not really… _dating_ , I mean-“

“They made out in the cafeteria while you were watching. More than once.” Niall was gonna commit a murder and it wasn’t going to be pretty.

“Niall, what the hell?! I thought Louis has long grown out of that stupid phase, you never told me who he was with to begin with and now I have to hear this?! What’s gotten into you?” This was literally so stupid, what exactly was Greg getting out of this? Except for those five minutes of Niall getting screamed at and maybe ignored for a few days? 

“Look, I didn’t know who Harry even was until a few days ago, okay? I can’t avoid _every_ person that may or may not have talked to Liam Payne!” Because that would have been pretty much everyone? “I’m sorry, okay? I’m going to stay away from Harry, and it’s not Louis fault, he doesn’t even know what… what Liam’s family has done. Louis is just… he’s just going through a phase, like you said, but you know him, he’s a good friend.”

“Then you better tell him what’s going on or else I’m not so sure how good of a friend he is if he doesn’t care about what that bastard has done to our family.” Fucking hell, Niall was so screwed.

“I’ll tell him. I’m sorry.” Niall tried to make it sound believable even though he knew his dad didn’t really care anyways, he always got angry at an instant whenever Liam’s family was mentioned, it was like a light switch. The again, he was always angry. “I have to go to uni or I’ll be late.” 

“Then go. But Niall, if I hear something like that again, I don’t think you wanna know what the consequences are going to be. So fix this and we’ll forget about it, but if not… “ Behind their father’s back, Niall’s brother was making a gesture as if he was cutting his own throat and the blonde had to take a deep breath before he turned around, leaving the house as quickly as possible.

He was going to have to tell Louis, maybe not the truth, but _something_. Fuck, and all this after he had spent all Sunday texting Liam and getting so excited about hanging out with him after uni today even though he wasn’t sure anymore if that was still going to happen. Liam hadn’t mentioned it anymore after he had dropped Niall off, but… he surely hadn’t forgotten about it, right?

 

\------------

 

“Sooo… what are you doing after classes today?” It was as if the universe wanted to see Niall dead or suffering or something, he was being completely paranoid after this morning, had somehow managed to avoid both Louis and Harry all day until now. One time, Harry had yelled his name across the hallway and the blonde had just kept on walking, pretending that he had been listening to music.

“I, uh, I’ll probably go home and study.” Niall lied, because that was his thing now, he was just lying to everybody he knew. Except for Liam and maybe that was really worrisome.

“Study? For what?” Louis sounded very alarmed all of a sudden, as if he had forgotten about an exam or something because it surely wouldn’t have been the first time.

“Don’t know yet, I just don’t wanna fall behind.” Now Niall sounded like an idiot but it was better than telling Louis the truth. They were sitting in the hallways somewhere, without Harry luckily, and Niall was trying to keep a constant eye out for his brother but not be too obvious about it. 

“Just say you don’t wanna hang out, jesus … “ It was obviously a joke, but it did somehow get to the blonde. Then again, if Louis had known the whole story, he surely would have been rooting for Niall to hang out with Liam, right? “I was gonna ask you to come watch a movie with me and Harry at my house.”

“Yeah, um… maybe another time, my dad has been really up my back about grades and stuff… “ At least that wasn’t a lie, but it was also more of a constant thing rather than a current one. 

“Isn’t he always? And you’ve got really good grades.” Louis argued and he was right but the blonde just shrugged anyways, squinting his eyes a bit as he looked across the hallway because he thought he had seen Liam. The brunette had only texted him once today, an hour ago, just to ask if Niall was still up for hanging out later and it had made the blonde ridiculously happy. And nervous. “Everything okay with your dad and stuff?”

“Um… “ The blonde hesitated, he had been debating all day whether he should have just told Louis the whole story or not, but where would he have even started? Also, he couldn’t just tell Louis without having thought about the consequences in depth, plus he probably should have asked Liam first, now that he was thinking about it. So instead, Niall decided that maybe he was going to change the truth a tiny bit. “You know, he’s been… kinda… kinda angry lately.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. Why?” Louis knew that Niall had a shit relationship with his parents, but the blonde had never really wanted Louis to come over to his house too much or to talk to his parents for longer than 5 minutes or so. 

“I don’t know what it is… just everything, I guess. And, uh… this morning, like… “ Should Niall have really said that? But he couldn’t just ignore Harry and avoid him, Louis would have confronted him anyways so he could just say it right now. “You know when Greg told my dad a while ago that… that you’re dating a guy? And then I had to, like… agree with him that it was just a phase and shit like that?”

“Uh, yeah?” Okay, Louis was understandably confused about the conversation suddenly being about him and Niall really didn’t wanna make him feel weird or bad or anything, but he needed to say _something_.

“Well… Greg kinda brought it up again today and, uh, he mentioned that he saw me hanging out with Harry quite a lot as well and… “ And that that was a problem because not only was Niall’s dad a homophobe, he also thought Liam was the spawn of the devil. “My dad got really angry, like, he, uh, he told me to… stay away from Harry, basically.”

“I… “ Louis started but then he broke off and Niall was chewing his thumbnail, not looking at his best friend because he really did not wanna know what Louis was thinking right now. “And… what about me?”

“He knows you and… you know he believes you’ll eventually grow out of it or some crap. So no, it’s nothing to do with you, I don’t even know what he wants, but… if Harry tells you I avoided him today… it’s because of that.” This made little to no sense when Niall left out the thing with Liam, but what else was he supposed to tell Louis? The truth? “I’m sorry, I wasn’t gonna tell y-“

“No, I gotta know, it’s fine. It’s not your fault after all and I know your dad. I’ll tell Harry.” Great, now Louis was trying to comfort Niall or something? “You’re not just saying that though because you secretly hate Harry, right?”

“What? No, I like Harry, he’s alright.” Niall shrugged, not wanting to get too much into that because they had never really talked about the game on Friday. In all honesty though, Niall couldn’t have remembered just one thing he and Harry had been talking about anyways. “’m sure my dad will calm down and my brother is gonna lose interest, he didn’t care all those months either.”

“Yeah, but you’ve been avoiding Harry before that… was that why?” Louis was basically giving Niall the best excuse ever, it was right there in front of him, the solution he could have needed a few weeks ago when his best friend had been trying to get him and Harry to be friends. But the blonde had really lied enough for one day.

“Not really, I had no idea Greg would even care. I just… I thought it was weird to, like, hang out with you and Harry because you’re together and everything.” And because of Liam, but that was really only a part of the reason anyways. 

“But it doesn’t bother you anymore now?” No, because suddenly Niall had a lot going on in secret that kinda made it convenient that he and Louis weren’t hanging out as much anymore as they used to. Fuck, one day all of this was just going to blow up into Niall’s face, wasn’t it?

“No, it’s fine, I guess I just had to get used to it or something.” The blonde forced himself to a fake laugh, wanting to move on from this whole topic because he would have just been piling on lie after lie and it was already getting ridiculous. “I’m sorry for, you know, always finding excuses so I wouldn’t have to hang out with you guys.”

“It’s fine, I shouldn’t have been pushing that much. But I’m really glad you guys get along now and that you even offered Harry to go to the game with him.” Louis sounded genuinely excited about that, as if he could have thought of absolutely nothing better than his boyfriend and best friend hanging out by themselves. “How was it by the way? We never talked about it.”

“Yeah, it was fi- fun.“ Niall cleared his throat, knowing what the next question was going to be so he decided to just bring it up himself instead, as if that was going to make things better. “Liam drove us home.”

“Harry told me that. And, were you afraid to get in the car?” Louis gently bumped his elbow into the younger’s ribs as he chuckled while the blonde rolled his eyes, kinda glad though that the mood had gotten a bit lighter. “No, but seriously, I wouldn’t have known what to talk about with him and you were all alone in his car once he dropped Harry off, right?”

“Hmm, yeah. It was alright, we, uh, didn’t talk too much.” Another lie, Niall was going to have to keep a diary or something, so he wouldn’t expose himself at some point. “But it was nice of him to drive us.”

“Yeah, that’s what I was thinking, I mean, his team won and he still drove you guys home instead of celebrating. Kinda weird.” Very weird indeed.

“He said he had to work in the morning though, maybe that’s why. And Harry’s his friend, so… “ It made no sense, that Liam had lied to Harry and his team mates so he could hang out with Niall, why had he done that? 

“Where does he work?” Louis sounded genuinely interested and the blonde couldn’t actually believe that they were having this conversation right now, while sitting in the empty hallways because apparently everyone else had a class to get to. 

“I don’t know, he said he works for his dad, I didn’t really ask.” Niall wasn’t sure what Liam’s dad was doing anyways, pretty sure his own father had told him multiple times but when Niall had been a child he had obviously not really understood and later on and he had only been pretending to listen. 

“Weird… aren’t they really rich or something? Harry told me he was in his house once and it’s like a mansion and they’ve got a cook and stuff. And Liam’s parents apparently were all dressed up and Harry showed up in sweatpants because it was the weekend or something.” Now Louis was laughing again, probably thinking his boyfriend had been greatly exaggerating but sadly… Niall knew that he hadn’t been. “We should become really good friends with Liam until he invites us over and we can see his house ourselves.”

“Just go on Liam’s Instagram.” Shit, why had Niall said that?!

“Maybe I should… wait, you stalking him on there or what?” Now Louis sounded both amused but also surprised and Niall’s face was getting all hot and thank god he at least hadn’t been dumb enough to ever actually follow Liam. 

“No? Why would I do that, I was just bored.” Every single night for 2 years. “I don’t care about him, as much as you wanna believe that I’m afraid of him.”

“Yeah, yeah whatever. He’s good looking though, isn’t he? I mean, like, he always looks like he’s just here to do a photoshoot or something.” Okay, could Louis maybe not swoon over Liam, what the hell?

“You’ve got a boyfriend.” Niall tried to remind Louis jokingly but he was actually being dead serious about this.

“So? I can still appreciate Liam’s looks. I’d never wanna be with someone who looks like him and with his kinda reputation, I’d always have to be afraid he’s gonna find somebody else next time he goes out.” Of course Louis was joking, but it kinda made Niall a bit angry and also scared. Liam wasn’t using people though, was he? Niall had seen him with various girls and stuff, but whenever they had broken up, there seemed to have been no hard feelings. “I know Harry says he’s not really like, just using people for sex or something, but… “

“But what?” Niall couldn’t help it, it was stupid but he was desperate for Louis to say that he didn’t actually believe that Liam was like that. Not that it mattered, if Liam had just been wanting to have sex with somebody, he surely wouldn’t have chosen Niall anyways. 

“Nothing, I don’t know. I’m just saying, he’s really popular here and he’s got the looks and we’ve all seen him with a lot of different girls.” Louis shrugged as if he wanted to move on from the topic when really, it was the very last thing Niall wanted right now.

“Maybe he just likes to date a lot of people, he can do whatever he wants, it doesn’t seem like anyone he’s ever dated has been angry at him after they’ve broken up, so… “ And Niall had to know because he was creepily invested in Liam’s private life.

“You don’t have to defend him, I was just saying what I’ve seen, I haven’t been stalking him like you have apparently been doing. I thought you don’t care?” Niall could feel his friend looking at him but he refused to turn his head, still biting his thumbnail the whole time while hating himself for allowing Louis to read him like an open book. He used to have been a lot better at this. 

“I’m just saying, I don’t think it’s fair to judge him like that when we don’t even know him.” There, was that enough for Louis to believe that Niall had never properly spoken to Liam before? Hopefully because the blonde had nothing else to come up with. 

“I’m not judging him, he can do whatever he wants, I agree, all I said is I’d be scared to date someone like that.” Yeah, well, good thing neither of them would ever have to worry about that right? It did kinda get Niall upset, because what did Louis know anyways? Still, there was that worry in the back of his head now that maybe he was just blinded because he liked Liam so much, maybe there was an obvious reason why Liam was being so nice to him and seemingly so eager to hang out with him that the blonde simply didn’t see? “I think we should leave if we wanna make it on time to that class.”

“How many times have you already skipped?” Niall was thinking about just not going, he wasn’t in the mood anymore and it was an easy class, but then again, maybe he also didn’t feel like hanging out with Louis and talk more about Liam.

“Three. So if I break my leg next week I gotta tell the ambulance to bring me right here.” The semester hadn’t even started too long ago and Louis already had had three absences, which shouldn’t have gotten Niall so stressed out for the other boy but somehow it did. In the end, it was him who Louis was going to ask for help after all. “You can’t skip, Nialler, I’m going to be bored to death if I gotta go all by myself.”

“It’s not like we can talk in the middle of class anyways.” The blonde was slowly starting to get up, the idea of just leaving becoming more appealing when he thought about how he would have to be afraid that once they were walking out of class later that Harry was going to be waiting for them and then Niall would have to find an excuse to leave quickly and… this was just getting too complicated. 

“C’mon, Ni, it’s our last class, you can do it.” Louis was begging now, apparently really not willing to go there by himself.

“Ugh… but just for you.” Niall couldn’t start skipping classes because of his family, right? He just needed to be careful because otherwise he’d just be sitting around all by himself afraid to talk to anybody here. 

“You’re the best.” Of course it was sarcasm but the blonde didn’t really mind right now, he was busy thinking about Liam and the fact that he had no bloody idea what they were going to be doing later.

There were more people in the hallways as they were walking to their class, kinda slowly and while Louis was trying to figure out what they had actually been covering the last time he had shown up. Niall was listening with one ear, his mind running wild though while he was thinking about whether he should have told Liam about what had happened this morning. Then again, there’s nothing Liam could have done, right? 

“Wait, was that the class where we had to read that stupid Shakespeare book? Romeo and Juliet?” Louis was apparently going through a list of things they had been doing in various classes and Niall was biting back a grin. 

“No, that was a diff-“

Before Niall could finish, somebody was bumping into him, completely out of nowhere, but then again, the blonde hadn’t really been paying attention to where he was walking all that much either. It all went by so fast that Niall barely registered what was going on, all he knew was that he froze on the stop when he noticed that it was Liam fucking Payne who he had ran into, in the middle of the freaking hallway.

“Woah, sorry.” Liam apologized, but when Niall looked up, there was half a smile on his face and they were still standing way too close, the brunette having grabbed the blonde’s upper arm seemingly automatically in order to stop him from falling.

“S’okay… “ Before Niall was able to step away in shock, Liam dropped his arm, walking past Niall and in the most subtle way possible putting something into the blonde’s hand that Niall gripped tightly onto without even thinking about it. It was a piece of paper that he wouldn’t be able to read now, not in Louis’ presence. What the hell had that been?!

“That was random. Must have had a feeling we were talking about him.” Louis was joking and Niall tried to laugh but he was aware that it came out breathless, his fingers holding on tightly to the paper in his hand. “You really gotta watch your step or something, didn’t you bump into one of his friends just a while ago?”

“I… I don’t know, maybe.” Of course the blonde remembered, pretty clearly actually, but he was now just focused on trying to put a neutral expression on his face as they kept on walking. 

What was Liam doing? Niall’s brother hadn’t been anywhere in sight, but maybe somebody else had been? What was the bloody point in sneaking around if Liam was openly going to run into Niall on full purpose and put letters into his hand in the middle of the hallways?

Of course the blonde was flattered as hell, having breathed in Liam’s cologne for a moment but it had been enough to make him feel dizzy. He was dying to know what the hell Liam had done this for, why he hadn’t just texted the blonde, but Niall had to wait, basically until they were halfway through the class and it was appropriate for him to get up and pretend to be going to the bathroom.

Instead, the blonde simply walked around the corner, almost ripping the paper on accident as he unfolded it, pretty curious about Liam’s handwriting as well. When he read what was written on there though, things were starting to make even less sense but his heart was also beating a whole lot faster.

 

_I parked the car a few streets away behind that closed down mall, meet me there x_

 

Apparently Liam had forgotten how to text, but the risk he had taken for that was suddenly way worth to Niall for just that tiny ‘x’.

 

\---------------

 

Finding Liam’s car wasn’t very hard, not only because it always seemed to stand out, but also because he had pretty much parked the car in an empty side street as if they were about to deal drugs instead of… what exactly were they gonna do, actually? Niall had no idea, all he knew was that his heart was beating pretty damn fast when he saw Liam in the driver’s seat, completely having forgotten about whatever he and Louis had been talking about before or the fact that his best friend even existed.

“Hi.” The blonde opened the passenger door without much thinking, immediately returning the other’s smile as he got into the car, keeping his backpack in his lap. 

“Hi, sorry I parked so far away from uni.” It had been a 7 minute walk or so, but Niall would have gladly walked a lot longer just to see Liam. 

“That’s fine. I was more surprised about that note you gave me.” Niall simply couldn’t hold back, he needed to say something about that because it had been really fucking risky and who knew what else Liam was going to do in the future? “You know you could have just texted me, right?”

“Yeah, but where’s the fun in that? I just wanted to see if it’d work like in one of those movies.” What?

“Louis was literally right next to me.” Just to let Liam know, because he didn’t seemed to be worried in any way, already having started the car to drive to god knows where because he had never actually asked Niall or at least let him in on his plans.

“But he didn’t notice, did he?” Fair point. “I won’t do it again, promise.”

“It’s okay… as long as no one saw us.” Almost immediately, Niall had gotten slightly panicked because what if Liam had planned on giving him more notes, possibly again signing them with an ‘x’? Plus, text messages were one thing, but the note was in Liam’s handwriting and Niall could actually keep it, as stupid as that sounded. “Where are we going?”

“It’s a surprise.” Liam winked at the blonde as he briefly looked over at him and Niall kinda felt his face getting hotter again. “But we’ll be in the car for a bit, so feel free to turn on the radio if you want.”

“Are you gonna kidnap me today or something?” The blonde joked while staring at Liam’s radio, not actually reaching out though because he had no bloody idea how to use it. 

“Yep, you caught me, I only brought you to my house last Friday to gain your trust and now I’m gonna kidnap you and keep you in my basement forever.” He actually sounded kinda serious while saying it, but he seemed to be exceptionally good at pretending to be serious whenever he was joking for some reason. “No, but seriously, when do you have to be back home?”

“Um, it doesn’t matter.” Not like Niall’s parents cared where he was and anyways, he was 20 years old and though his parents had very strong opinions on who Niall could hang out with, they didn’t at all care if he ever came home again or not. “You’re kinda worrying me.”

“Why?” Was he genuinely confused?

“I don’t know, I’ve got no idea what we’re doing or where we’re going and-“

“You’re gonna enjoy yourself, trust me, I thought really hard about this.” Had he though? And if so, why would he do that? Just for Niall? “How was your day?”

“Fine, I guess.” Was Liam joking, he was asking Niall how his day had been?! “Yours?”

“Same. Also, Harry wanted to talk about last Friday with me.” Oh god, this statement alone was enough to cause Niall’s heartbeat to go unsteady. “He seemed really interested in how you and me got along when I drove you home after dropping him off.”

“What’d you say?” Hopefully the same as Niall had told Louis because the blonde hadn’t even considered that this might become a problem. “Louis asked me the same thing and I told him we didn’t really talk too much.”

“Oh.” Was all Liam said to that and fuck, Niall was screwed. 

“What do you mean _oh_ , what did you tell Harry?” Why was Liam so keen on exposing them, seriously?!

“Nothing, just that we got along well and that we talked the whole way to your house. But don’t freak out now, I doubt they’ll talk about this.” Well, Liam seemed to not know Louis and Harry all that well after all. 

“I’m sure they will, actually… but whatever, I can’t hang out with Harry anymore anyways.” Niall said it to kinda calm himself down, not really considering the fact that of course Liam was going to ask questions now. 

“Why not?” He had gone over to looking kinda worried as he looked over and Niall simply shrugged, looking down as he played with the strings of his backpack.

“Because, uh, my brother saw me and Harry hanging out and stuff, so then he told my dad and that Harry is friends with you and… well, my dad freaked out and I told him Harry’s just talking to you because he’s scared of you, for which I’m sorry by the way, but he didn’t believe it and now I gotta stay away from Harry and also from Louis if I don’t make them break up. But don’t tell Harry, I had to lie to Louis because he doesn’t know about our family situation and stuff.” It kinda felt good to tell Liam that because who else could Niall have told? 

“I won’t say anything, promise, but… your brother really told on you for hanging out with Harry? And your dad actually hates my dad so much he doesn’t even want us to have the same friends? Wow, that’s crazy.” Liam sounded genuinely shocked for some reason, but what had he been expecting, honestly?

“Would your dad not mind that as well?” But then again, that was very different because Liam had no brother running around campus telling on him.

“Not sure, he’d never find out. I mean, I never had to worry about all that stuff as much as you have because of your brother, I guess. But now I get why you were so terrified of me giving you that note.” Well, at least something, but it would have been too late anyways. “Good thing I’m getting us out of town right now.”

“Um, what?” Okay, maybe Niall should have been looking out of the window a bit more carefully, because they were already almost out of town after a few minutes. “Oh my god, are you gonna murder me instead of just kidnapping me?!”

“Yeah, totally.” Liam was shaking his head a bit but he had sounded very amused, turning on the radio by himself now but keeping it at a very low volume. “But only after we’ve reached the next city.”

“The next city?” Okay, now Niall was slowly starting to understand, they couldn’t really hang out where they lived unless it was dark or something, but they could have totally hung out in a city that was 5 times as big and where nobody knew who they were. “What’re we doing there? Before you’re murdering me, I mean?”

“Hang out.” Liam laughed, again not giving anything away and Niall couldn’t help the smile spreading across his face because he was definitely excited about hanging out with Liam. Maybe as excited as he was about the fact that Liam seemed to have seriously planned this out really well. “You can change the radio channel if you want, I don’t know what kinda music you like.”

“It’s fine, we can listen to whatever you want.” It was his car after all and Niall had no idea how to switch the channel, so… “Are you still into all those singers you’ve got pictures of on your wall?”

“Not really, only some of them. But I saw them all in concert at some point, I was like, a really hardcore fan if you wanna call it that.” He chuckled, the sound almost giving the blonde a heart attack.

“That’s really cool, I’ve never been to a concert.” Then again, where had Niall been? Right, nowhere. “I mean, no one ever comes to where we live, so… “

“Yeah, I always had to go to London for that… you ever been?” God, why was Liam asking this? 

“Um, no.” Niall answered truthfully because he had never really left his hometown except for going to, for example, the city Liam was driving to right now. But how would he have ever afforded anything else?

“No?!” The brunette sounded appalled, but before Niall could have gotten slightly upset over the brunette simply assuming that everyone was as wealthy as him, he quickly made up for it. “I’ll take you some day.”

“You wanna take me to London?!” Was he insane?! Like, it wasn’t that far away, but… what the hell? 

“Sure, why not? It’d be fun and we can’t really hang out at home anyways, so.” Well, Niall didn’t think this was weird because he was worried he wouldn’t enjoy himself, but rather because he had no bloody idea why Liam would want to go there with _him_. “Have you ever been outside the country?”

“No… well, yeah, I was in Ireland once to visit my grandparents, but I was too small to remember.” Also, Niall wasn’t really sure if that had really happened if he was being honest, his grandparents had died a long time ago and the blonde had never really known them. 

“Right, I forgot your parents are Irish.” Liam nodded as if it was obvious, but it only confused the blonde a bit.

“Uh, how do you know that?” Then again, he also knew a lot about Liam, but that was only because he had been stalking him on social media for the past two years.

“My dad told me at some point, I can’t remember, actually. He said a lot about your family.” Nothing good though, judging by the brunette’s facial expression but it was fine, apparently Liam’s dad still didn’t hate Niall’s family as much as the other way around. 

“Which countries have you been to? Like, outside the UK and Ireland?” Niall asked because he wanted to switch the topic but he also kinda really wanted to know, like, surely Liam had already travelled a lot with his family.

“Uh… Spain, France, Sweden… Norway and Italy.” Liam had hesitated before answering, and even more before adding two more countries but Niall was actually pretty sure that the brunette had been to even more. Which was fine, of course, Niall had expected it but the brunette seemed to be feeling guilty now. 

“Wow, that’s a lot, I’m jealous.” Niall laughed, trying to lighten the mood a bit, somehow wishing he wouldn’t have asked now. “So, when you’re done with uni and stuff… are you gonna move away or something?”

“Like, as in leave the country? Probably not, I’d really like to move to London though.” Of course he would move away, Niall knew that that was probably a few years away in the future, but it still made him sad somehow. Also, once they were finished with uni, would he ever even see Liam anymore in general? “Also, my dad will probably want me to stay and continue working for him there, but I don’t know if I want that.”

“Can you just… say no to him?” If that had been Niall’s dad, there was no way in hell he would have been able to just say no to him.

“Technically I can, I don’t know if it’s very smart though.” Liam laughed but it didn’t sound very amused at all and the blonde really identified. Then again, their situations were as different as it could get. 

“Why didn’t your family, like, move away years ago? I know they expanded to other countries because my dad has been raging over that for a month straight.” Yeah, that hadn’t been funny at all, Liam pulled an eyebrow up at that so Niall just shrugged, not really feeling like getting into it right now.

“My parents like how small the town is and that they know basically everybody, and maybe they enjoy looking down on all those people as well, I don’t know. They’ve never talked about moving, at least not with me.” Well, they surely were the richest people here, so maybe that was why. Plus, they had that huge house, who would wanna give that up? “But let’s talk about something more interesting, like… when’s your birthday?”

“Um, September 13th.” It hadn’t been all too long ago and Niall didn’t enjoy looking back all too much either. He had hung out with Louis and some other friends but only in the evening so he had pretty much spent the day at home.

“Really? That’s pretty close to mine.” Liam sounded positively surprised by that for some reason.

“Yeah only two weeks later.” Niall said it without thinking, not even realizing his mistake right away because he had known Liam’s birthday for so long that it would have seemed ridiculous to ask. “I mean, uh, like… ummm… I-“

“Oh my god, you’ve been stalking me.” The brunette pretended to be really shocked, but he actually sounded very fake doing it and Niall didn’t know what would have been worse.

“No, I wasn’t, you… you posted about it.” Okay, that was a very poor attempt at trying to save his dignity, but what was Niall supposed to say?!

“So you’re confirming that you stalked me?” Liam was laughing now and the blonde wanted to slap himself, but instead he was just looking out of the window, cheeks on fire. “Do you follow me on Instagram?”

“No?!” But Niall would have in a heartbeat, if he hadn’t been so paranoid. “Everybody would have seen me doing it.”

“So you would if you could?” Maybe Niall needed to just shut up?

“No.” Niall lied, pretending to be upset to overplay his embarrassment but it only amused the brunette further. “Your posts aren’t that interesting.”

“Oh my god, how long have you been doing that for?” Liam simply ignored the blonde’s answer, as if he _knew_ and Niall wanted to actually die. Fuck, he was such an idiot, what was he gonna tell Liam next? _Oh, by the way, I think you’re really bloody gorgeous_. 

“I haven’t?” The blonde kept on lying because now he really couldn’t go back, he needed to just stick to it, no matter how unbelievable it sounded. Judging by Liam’s amusement, very.

“Wait… that picture I’ve shown you of Watson the first time we were at the library… did you already see that before when I posted it and pretended you haven’t? Is that why you asked his name, because you’ve seen so many pictures of him?” Fuck.

“What is this, an investigation or something?” What was Niall supposed to do besides make it look ridiculous or try to joke about it because Liam was literally spot on? He should have been a detective or something. 

“You don’t have to be embarrassed about it, Niall.” Okay, but how could Niall not have been?! 

“I’m not… “ The blonde mumbled, now truly embarrassed if he hadn’t already been and it didn’t really make it better when Liam suddenly reached over, touching his shoulder for a moment and causing a shiver to go through Niall’s body. “It’s not like, you know, like I do it all the time, or just with you, I just… anyways, everybody knows you at uni, I’m pretty sure _everyone’s_ seen your Instagram.” 

“You think?” Liam asked and he actually sounded as if he was expecting a serious answer now. 

“No, I don’t know. But it’s not like I was _stalking_ you or something… “ Niall was really trying to do damage control now because he had exposed himself and he wasn’t going to be able to talk himself out of it anyways, but he could always try, right? “I was just curious is all.”

“It’s fine, you could be stalking me, I don’t mind.” He surely would have cared if he had known the truth but Niall was now determined to keep his mouth shut before he would have to get himself a new identity or something. 

“I’m not.” Not anymore at least, but Niall was NEVER going to admit to that and maybe Liam was realizing that as well because he just laughed at the blonde.

“Okay, but if you ever wanna know anything really badly like you wanted to know my dog’s name, then you can just ask me.” Oh, there were a lot of things Niall wanted to know even more badly than Liam’s dog’s name, for example what kinda cologne he used and how he managed to always look so beautiful and how it was possible that he was the man of Niall’s dreams even though the blonde had never even known he had had one before meeting Liam. 

“Thanks.” The blonde made it sound sarcastic, rolling his eyes just in case Liam was looking at him. They had already left the town behind and it was really calming somehow, to know that from now on, nobody they knew could have seen them together anymore.

“What? You’re making it sound like I’m not interesting or anything.” Now Liam sounded kinda disappointed, but a look at his face clearly told Niall that he was just playing around. “Or is it because you already know everything because you’ve been stalking me for so long?”

“Yeah, that’s it, you’re right, I’ve been stalking you every day since the first day of Uni two years ago, there, I said it.” Sad thing was, it was true, but if Niall made it sound like it was a joke then that kinda made it less likely that it actually _was_ the truth, right? At least that’s what he told himself.

“I knew it.” Liam was chuckling again and Niall would have loved to take his phone out and record him just so he could listen to it again in case this was the last time they had ever spent time together. You never knew, right? “You wanna know something though?”

“Um, what?” Niall was expecting for Liam to make another joke about the blonde stalking him, but for some reason that never happened.

“When I first saw you at uni and like, heard your name in class and stuff, I wanted to actually talk to you because I always found that family fight so unnecessary, but then I didn’t get a chance and it’s been like that for two years now. And then of course I also thought we’d both get in trouble if anybody saw and you’ve been trying to avoid me so desperately, I just never said a word. Until Harry’s party of course, because it was actually the first time no one else was around.” Wait… what?!

“You… you wanted to talk to me? Since two years?” What was he talking about? Was he making fun of Niall? Did he somehow magically know just how much the blonde had been wanting to talk to him?!

“Yeah, I did. And I really should have done it sooner because I think we get along real well and I enjoy hanging out with you, it already feels like we’ve done this a lot more often, doesn’t it?” Okay, he HAD to be making fun of the blonde now… right?! “At least that’s how I see it.”

“No, I… I think the same.” The blonde quickly answered, even if Liam had been joking because he was so shocked and at the same time suddenly getting so excited and hopeful that he was already afraid of this taking a bad turn. 

“You alright?” Liam asked after a second, maybe because the blonde was biting his thumbnail so desperately now without even noticing, but his mind was literally running wild and he couldn’t seem to actually believe that Liam had really just said all of that. Niall hadn’t ever even thought that Liam knew who he was, let alone that he’d wanna talk to the blonde if he had known him.

“Yeah, fine.” Niall answered, maybe a bit too fast, but whatever, he had done more embarrassing things today. 

They stayed quiet for a few minutes then, Liam changed the radio channel a few times in the meantime and Niall barely noticed time passing by because he was so deep in thoughts now. Liam kinda got him out of that again by asking another question, a light one though, and they fell back into conversation though the blonde was slightly distracted because he couldn’t seem to stop thinking about what the older boy had said.

Liam Payne had been wanting to talk to him since two years and he thought that they were getting on well. This HAD to be a dream. 

 

\---------------

 

“You… you wanna go mini golfing?” Niall couldn’t actually believe it even though they were literally standing in front of the place, next to each other in the daylight, which felt weird but they were almost an hour away from home. 

“Yeah? If you want to. You said you like golfing and I was thinking about going golfing for real but I’ve never played and I don’t think it would be much fun for you, but I’ve been mini golfing before.” Liam sounded and looked so incredibly proud of his plan that Niall wanted to hug him, but he didn’t of course, he just stared into the brunette’s eyes, trying to think of the right words to say. “We can also go somewhere else, I’ve got 3 things planned, you have to like one of them.”

“ _Three?!_ ” Fuck, he must have put almost as much thought into today as the blonde.

“If we have enough time, yeah.” The brunette smiled, literally giving Niall goosebumps everywhere on his body. He was so in love right now, he could barely even think. “So, do you wanna go?”

“Yeah, I, no, I mean, I wanna go mini golfing.” Niall had no idea what he was even saying anymore and Liam must have noticed because he was grinning.

“Okay, let’s go then.” He seemed very excited as he started walking and Niall quickly followed, not knowing how this was happening to him but somehow it was?

Liam insisted on paying and Niall tried to protest because it wasn’t even expensive but the brunette explained that it had all been his idea so he should have been the one paying for it as well. Honestly, that made very little sense but Niall gave in of course because it was easier this way to pretend that it was an actual date.

He knew they were just hanging out and everything, but mini golfing DID sound like a date, a little bit at least. Niall surely would have never done this with anybody else other than maybe Louis. Why was Liam spending money and gas on Niall, and so much time planning things? Why on earth would he try so damn hard? Ask for Niall’s interests so they could go do that? Drive to another city?!

No matter his reason though, Niall surely wasn’t going to ever ask Liam for one.

“You’re cheating!” Niall wasn’t actually mad, he was just amused by how obviously Liam was cheating, simply writing down a lower number for himself even though he was losing anyways. It became obvious that he had never just once played golf after only half an hour of them being here.

“I’m not cheating, you just can’t count.” Liam shrugged, but he was grinning, very obviously giving himself away and then, as if he hadn’t already cheated enough, pretending to be accidentally having pushed his golf ball closer to the hole with his foot.

“You literally just moved the ball with your foot.” The blonde didn’t know if he should have been laughing or not, he was trying to be pretend to be serious here, but it didn’t seem like the brunette was very bothered by it anyways.

“I tripped over it, jesus, if it means that much to you I’ll move it back.” He playfully rolled his eyes, bending down and _of course_ moving it even closer. “Happy?”

“I think I’m gonna do the counting from now.” Was all Niall said, stretching his hand out to take the paper and pencil from Liam, but the brunette didn’t even move an inch. “Liam-“

“Fuck, look at you getting all flustered and upset over _mini golf_.” He was definitely having way too much fun with that, laughing at the blonde and Niall could actually feel his cheeks getting hotter as he stepped closer to the brunette, trying to take the paper but the brunette actually held it behind his back, grinning at Niall. “I thought we’re just playing for fun.”

“I’m only having fun when I’m winning.” It kinda slipped out but it was the truth anyways, Liam’s eyes went wide for a moment before he started laughing so loud that Niall would have gotten embarrassed had anybody else been here besides them. “Anyways, if it’s just fun, why can’t I do the counting then?”

“You can.” And yet Liam was making no actual attempt to give Niall the paper or the pencil, causing the blonde to roll his eyes.

“Give it to me then.” Niall half demanded, actually thinking about whether this was even still worth it, but at least Liam was having fun with it.

“Just take it.” Very funny, he was still holding his hand behind his back and the blonde had no idea what that was about, but he wasn’t really thinking too much about it when he reached behind Liam, the older boy immediately moving away again though, as if they were kids fighting over a toy. 

It probably looked like they were as well, because they were half wrestling over that stupid piece of paper for a few minutes and it wasn’t actually that serious to Niall, but he enjoyed being so close to Liam, their fingers brushing, the older boy being all up in his space, giggling right into Niall’s face. In all honesty, he could have been laughing at the blonde as much as he wanted, Niall would have still been enjoying himself. 

He didn’t really know how it happened exactly, how he froze exactly when he was standing so close to Liam that he could feel the older’s _breath_ on his face, but Niall suddenly had to swallow really hard, eyes flickering down for only a second to stare at Liam’s lips before he noticed his mistake. Fuck, Liam had surely seen that, the blonde immediately took a step back, almost stumbling if it hadn’t been for the brunette to grab a secure hold of his arm. “Sorry… “

“Here you go.” Liam never commented what had happened, he just smiled before finally giving the stupid paper for the scores to the blonde along with the pencil he had been using, petting the younger’s shoulder. “Alright, let’s see if I can’t still win this.”

“You can’t.” Niall replied breathlessly, trying his very hardest here to act normal and as if nothing had ever happened. Truth was though, he kinda felt hot and cold at the same time and his arm felt like it was on fire. 

“Yeah? I think you gotta watch out, Horan.” The brunette joked before blowing yet another one of his tries, but he actually looked so cute doing it, tongue between his teeth while concentrating and it actually distracted Niall so much that he forgot to count altogether. “Ha! How many?”

“What?” Having to actually shake his head and blink a few times, Niall immediately realized his mistake, he hadn’t even bloody noticed that Liam had somehow managed to get the ball into the hole. “Um… “

“Wow, and you wanna be good at keeping the scores.” Liam was shaking his head, but he had a crooked smile on his lips and when their eyes met, the older’s were so soft and his expression so fond that Niall had to look away. Was he aware that he was the one distracting Niall this much? “Just write down 1 then.”

“I sure as hell won’t, you tried at least 5 times.” Niall shook his head slowly before forcing himself to go get the ball with Liam chuckling in the background, his hands only shaking a little tiny bit. It shouldn’t have been allowed to be this good looking while playing freaking mini golf.

In the end, Niall had of course won, but apparently not as high as he felt like he should have, because Liam seemed to have been making up numbers for himself for the first half an hour. It didn’t actually bother Niall, but he was still pretending like it was just to make the other boy laugh some more. Being able to do that was maybe the best feeling in the entire world, which sounded quite ridiculous but it was true.

 

\------------

 

It was a bit after 6 in the evening as they walked back to the car, Liam again making a secret about where they would go next and Niall was enjoying himself so much that he could barely believe it. He would have never dreamed about anybody trying so hard for him, but especially not Liam Payne, so when they stopped in front of a cinema, Niall wondered whether the brunette had really included _everything_ the blonde had told him he enjoyed doing. 

“I only looked at the movies briefly at home, if you don’t find anything you like we can do something else.” Liam had to be joking, right? First mini golf, now this?

“I’m sure that… that we’ll find something.” Was all Niall brought out, his throat feeling somewhat tight because everything they did felt more like a date than the thing before that. “I don’t think I’ve been to the cinema in like 10 years.”

“Wh- but you said you like movies.” Liam sounded as if he had written it down or something, actually making Niall smile as he kept looking at the movies on his phone.

“I do, I watch them illegally online. We don’t even have a cinema.” And Niall surely wouldn’t somehow attempt to get here just to watch a movie. Liam seemed to have that realization as well because he didn’t argue anymore after that, simply letting the blonde decide on whatever they were going to do.

Niall was honestly so fucking stocked about all of this, he would have chosen ANY movie just so he could sit next to Liam for about 90 minutes straight even though he really did wanna know what else the brunette had had planned for afterwards. Once the blonde had found something, Liam again insisted on paying, he also got Niall popcorn though the younger boy had obviously never asked for it and though it actually seemed impossible, that somehow made all of this even better. Of course Niall thanked Liam about ten million times but the brunette kept brushing it off, as if it was the most normal thing for him to do.

Liam seemed surprised by the blonde’s movie choice, but once they were sitting down and the lights were still on, he did wink at Niall telling him he could hold his hand if he got too scared. Was it stupid that Niall actually considered it?

 

\----------------

 

“Okay, you can’t _possibly_ have something else planned.” After they were done watching the movie, which had been surprisingly good but Niall might have been a bit influenced by Liam’s presence, the brunette had suggested they get some food from a drive thru and Niall had honestly thought that that had been the third thing Liam had had planned. Apparently though, it wasn’t because they were driving again.

“I gotta admit, out of all the things this one is maybe the weirdest. You can eat, by the way, I don’t mind.” Liam had already said that twice, but Niall ignored him again. He couldn’t have eaten in that car, no way.

“None of the things were weird though, they were awesome.” It was true so the blonde wasn’t too embarrassed about just saying it, feeling warmth spreading in his stomach when Liam smiled, not turning his head though because he was driving. 

“Yeah? I was worried you’d think I overdid it.” Well, he had definitely overdone it, but Niall _loved_ that he had done that. He had literally tried so hard, just for Niall, and the blonde would never get over it. “Well, you’ll surely think so after the next thing.”

“I doubt it. Are we leaving the city again?” Niall really did not wanna go home, not now and actually not ever, it was already 9 and pitch black outside and he knew they’d have to drive back at some point, but… honestly, Niall wouldn’t have minded losing sleep over it.

“Just a bit for now, unless I did a really bad job at googling.” Okay, what had he googled that they could be doing at 9 pm on a Monday that involved eating their food? Honestly, Niall had no idea but he trusted Liam after everything they had done today.

Pretty much ever since Liam had announced that they were gonna drive to the next city, Niall had been wanting to ask him why he would do this, why he enjoyed hanging out with him so much, but he was too afraid to actually open his mouth. Liam must have really liked him, as a friend at least, because there was no other explanation, was there? 

He must have really been wanting to spend time with the blonde just as much as the other way around, apparently not at all caring about Niall’s pretty obvious crush and it was honestly the best thing ever. Like, Niall had never had a friend he’d do things like that with other than Louis but the fact that this was Liam and that Niall couldn’t have made this up in his wildest dreams was just mind blowing. Of course he briefly thought about what he and Louis had been talking about today, about Liam just using people for sex or some shit, but this couldn’t be it, could it? There was just no bloody way so Niall stuffed that thought deep into the back of his mind.

“Oh my god, now I know, you _do_ wanna kill me and hide my body.” The blonde fake gasped as he said it, seriously feeling a bit weird though when Liam took a pretty strange looking street once they were almost outside the city. Not because of Liam obviously, but he wasn’t the biggest fan of strange looking streets in the middle of the night.

“You think I’d do that in complete darkness?” Liam joked, actually having to change lights because it was so dark where he was driving and also, they seemed to be somehow going uphill and the blonde honestly tried to figure out where this was going but he had no clue. 

“I don’t know, but you gotta admit it’s a little bit creepy.” But only a little because one, they were inside the car and two, Liam was there after all and the blonde was pretty sure he couldn’t have even been scared with him around.

“Awww, I’d offer you to hold my hand now but I don’t really wanna crash the car here.” Somehow, Niall wondered what Liam would have done had he genuinely grabbed his hand back in the cinema, he had thought about it during the movie as well, but had then come to the conclusion that Liam probably wouldn’t have said anything. He also hadn’t seemed to mind Niall staring at his lips like that while they had been mini golfing, so… “We’re almost there I think.”

“I don’t know if I should be worried or excited.” There was no other car and there were now trees on the side of the street, plus they must have really been driving up a hill now. “And you really googled this?”

“I did, just trust me.” Liam laughed, apparently not worried at all, so Niall tried to have some faith as well. Then again, after today, it’s not like he would have cared if it turned out that Liam wasn’t gonna find what he was looking for.

They were in the car for a few more minutes with Niall losing more hope every few seconds just so that the street seemed to suddenly take a turn and then end in a completely empty parking lot. It was too dark to tell at first, but once Liam stopped the car, seemingly very pleased with himself as he moved to get out, it slowly dawned on the blonde what they were doing here.

“You gotta come over here to see why I drove us here.” Liam motioned for the blonde to walk around the car and join him, actually having to walk around a tree as well and then, well… then Niall was _almost_ convinced that Liam must have been the best at planning dates. “Pretty cool, right?”

Niall didn’t know what to say because he was busy staring, just holding their food in his hands, admiring the view. Liam had honestly driven them up a hill so they could look down at the city, probably as far as their home town actually and the blonde had no idea how to react. Plus, the sky was really clear and suddenly everything made complete sense. “The stars… “

“You said you like space and that’s the closest thing I could come up with.” Fuck, was Liam being for real right now? “Also, there’s a bench over there and I got some blankets because I wasn’t sure how cold it was gonna get, I’ll go get them.” 

The blonde still had no idea what to say, so he just nodded even though Liam probably couldn’t even see his face properly, just standing there for a moment, almost dropping their food. This couldn’t be happening, this was such a fucking date idea that Niall couldn’t believe it, like, who did that?! Who would have actually planned the day around Niall’s interests, even including something like this?

Either Liam was that kinda person who was just endlessly creative without having to try hard or he had genuinely been googling and planning all of this on Sunday. Fuck, he had had only one day to do it as well, that made things even more impressive somehow and Niall had already felt flattered as fuck before.

“You coming?” Liam had made it to the bench much quicker than the blonde, who was still busy staring, not quite sure if he’d ever actually be able to believe this.

He walked over to where Liam was sitting rather slowly so he wouldn’t stumble, there were a few street lights but he still couldn’t see the older’s face that clearly as he sat down as well, placing the food in between them. Was this genuinely happening right now? Or had Niall fallen into a coma a few weeks ago and his brain was making all this up?

“Is this too much?” The brunette seemed worried, maybe because Niall was being so quiet as he slowly reached out to take one of the blankets because it definitely was a bit chilly. Right, he needed to get it together.

“No, not at all, I just… I’m really surprised. But positively.” At this, Liam’s smile came back at an instant and Niall returned it somehow automatically, again turning his head to admire the view. “Thanks, Liam, seriously.”

“You’re welcome. I told you I’m an amazing planner.” And he really was, even if it was just a joke. “I do think we should have maybe eaten a bit earlier because I’m about to starve and the popcorn wasn’t really so filling.”

“’cos I ate most of it.” Niall laughed because he had definitely eaten two thirds of that whole bucket of popcorn and Liam had just let him, not even saying a single word afterwards. “I’m still hungry though.”

“I told you, you could have just eaten in the car.” Liam shrugged as he took their food out, sharing it between the two of them and somehow Niall felt a bit weird for staring at him as he took his first bite because it definitely shouldn’t have been so exciting to watch.

“I can’t eat in a car like that.” Surely Liam had someone who would have cleaned it, but like… Niall would have felt way too bad.

“It’s not like a stain is gonna bother me. My other friends have already thrown up in the backseat.” Was he implying that Niall was his friend, by pronouncing the _other_?

“Still, it’s gross. I’d feel really bad if I threw up in your car.” But mostly embarrassed for making Liam watch him throwing up.

“See, that’s why I’m taking you on longer car journeys and no one else.” Liam was grinning, Niall could tell even when it was so dark and he tried not to get too excited about it but he somehow still was. Like, did that mean Liam wouldn’t have done this for any of his other friends? But why had he done it for Niall then? “Speaking of which… when do you wanna be back home?”

“I don’t know, I don’t really care.” They could have never gone home again and Niall wouldn’t have cared. Well, maybe a little bit, he would have missed Louis, but there wasn’t much else holding him there. 

“Okay, good, because I kinda completely forgot that we have to drive back home again tonight.” Did that mean he had enjoyed himself just as much as Niall?

“Yeah, me too.” The blonde lied because it had actually been bothering him a lot in the back of his head. “I’ll just sleep in the car if it gets super late.”

“And I have to stay up and drive or what?” Niall couldn’t help but laugh at Liam’s slightly upset question before starting to eat as well. They had only gotten fast food, which was fine though because they had had better things to do than sit in a restaurant somewhere. 

“I can’t wait until Louis asks me tomorrow how studying went.” They had eaten in silence for a few minutes and Niall had actually checked his phone once, relieved to see only two messages on there, one from his mother simply saying _Okay_ to him not coming home early and one from Louis asking some random question. 

“Did he wanna hang out as well?” Liam asked as if he felt guilty or something, but seriously, Niall would have cancelled anything to be with Liam instead.

“Yeah, he wanted me to watch a movie with him and Harry.” Niall shrugged, stuffing more fries into his mouth, glad that they weren’t sharing those because he would have felt bad. “I’d never watch a movie with them, they’d just make out the whole time. Plus, I can’t be around Harry anymore anyways.”

“Right… I could cause a scene with him.” The brunette suddenly said after a moment of hesitation, not making any sense to the blonde. “At uni, I mean. So then everyone would know and it’d genuinely look like he was scared of me and your dad could calm down.”

“What?” Had he seriously suggested that just now? “But Harry’s your friend, why would you do that?”

“I mean, I’d have to talk to him about it beforehand, I suppose, but… me avoiding Harry would be a lot easier than you avoiding him.” That was true, however, Niall could have never agree to that and not only because they’d have to tell Louis and Harry the truth about… all this.

“No, you can’t do that, I… I’ll be alright. My dad will calm down and my brother will get bored, it’s always the same.” Hopefully, because Niall really had no idea what he was going to do once he had basically no friends left he was allowed to talk to in public. “Thanks though… “

“Just tell me if you change your mind, I’m sure we could find a solution.” Liam sounded very confident somehow, as if he really wanted to help, but there was no way he could have without them exposing themselves. 

“But… no one can know that you’re the actual reason why my dad even cares. We’d have to tell them the whole story.” Which wasn’t a good idea at all, because Niall had a feeling Harry and Louis would have been way too invested. Plus, he would have basically been telling Louis that he had been lying to him all along.

“We could. I mean, we don’t have to say anything about us hanging out and stuff, but… I wouldn’t mind if we told them that as well. I trust Harry and I’m sure you trust Louis the same.” Wait, what?!

“We can’t tell them.” Why would Liam wanna do that?! And how did he manage to be so calm about it?

“They’ll find out anyways. Wouldn’t it be easier if you didn’t have to lie to Louis anymore?” Sure, but then he’d find out about the blonde’s crush and ask 100 million questions every day and… no, it was still easier like this. “Look, I’m not saying we should tell them right now, it was just a suggestion, just so you know that I wouldn’t mind.”

“Okay, but… but why would they find out?” They had to be sneaky anyways, no matter if Harry and Louis knew, right?

Liam didn’t respond immediately for some reason, he just kept on eating and right when the blonde was thinking about repeating his question, somehow confused about that reaction, Liam finally swallowed and spoke up, not looking at the blonde though and also not answering the question. “Niall, why do you think I took you to all these places?”

“What? Because we… because you wanted to hang out with me?” For whatever reason, but why was he asking Niall like that? As if he expected the blonde to know?

“Okay. And you didn’t at one point think that it was slightly weird and that it felt more like a date than friends hanging out?” Liam asked, just like that, leaving the blonde’s mouth hanging open as the brunette turned his head to look at him, half a smile on his face while Niall had to remind himself how to breathe. “You alright?”

“What do you mean… like a date?” Niall ignored the last question, he was ignoring everything right now that wasn’t Liam’s gorgeous face and the words coming out his mouth. This couldn’t be…. Could it?

“Niall, seriously, do you think I do this with all of my friends?” Okay, Liam was having way too much fun again, but the blonde was too shocked and too hopeful to really care. 

“I don’t know what you do with your friends.” Was all the blonde could think of saying, but it didn’t even sound like his own voice, he actually felt a little bit dizzy right now, Liam’s laugh somehow too far away. 

“Not this. Actually…” Liam broke off then to look at the blonde properly, studying his face so deeply that Niall seriously forgot to breathe or the fact that he was still holding his open drinking bottle in his hands. “I was really planning on taking it slow and stuff, but you weren’t being so subtle and… I mean, I know I didn’t ever ask you directly, but you do like me, right? I mean, not as a friend, but as in… you wouldn’t mind if I kissed you right now?”

Niall couldn’t say anything at all because he felt like he had lost all ability to speak ever again, so he just stared at Liam, still with his mouth dropped open, wanting to say that fuck no, he wouldn’t have minded at ALL, but he just couldn’t.

“Niall?” The brunette was clearly biting back a smile, suddenly reaching out for the blonde, very slowly, so Niall could have pulled away, just softly brushing his thumb over the corner of Niall’s mouth where he had undoubtedly had ketchup. “Can you just nod then if I can kiss you?”

Well, Niall could certainly do that though he wasn’t really sure what it looked like, he just honestly wouldn’t have been able to say a word right now. He couldn’t believe this, couldn’t believe Liam’s smile after he had nodded, or how excited the brunette seemed to be when he cupped the younger’s cheek before leaning over, his breath brushing Niall’s face he let his eyes flattered closed, heart beating so damn fast he thought there was no way Liam wasn’t noticing it.

Most of all though, Niall couldn’t believe that Liam genuinely closed the gap between their lips after hesitating for one moment, giving the blonde some time to move back if he had wanted to. But god knows Niall would have actually rather died.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey guys!
> 
> sooo first of all thank you so much for all the kudos & the lovely comments on the last chapters, im super happy with how much everyone seems to be enjoying the fic so far :D 
> 
> i really enjoy writing it as well, so i thought id make this chapter a bit longer, also because its a special one :D i hope you all enjoyed it & especially the ending haha! definitely looking forward to continuing the story :)


	5. Chapter 5

Niall wasn’t thinking about anything at all besides how Liam’s lips felt against his and the older’s tongue in his mouth and the way his palm felt against Niall’s cheek. He had absolutely no idea how long they were kissing while sitting in the most inconvenient position to do that ever, but there could have been a war going on around them and Niall still would have not noticed while he was literally on cloud nine.

His water bottle spilling all over his jeans though was a little bit different.

“Shit.” The blonde pulled away from Liam in shock, having completely forgotten about still holding that stupid bottle in his hands, never having bothered to close it because of Liam kissing him all of a sudden. Fuck, had that just really happened?! Niall couldn’t even think straight, his head was spinning and he could still taste Liam in his mouth, smell his cologne and feel his beard scratching over his skin. The blonde had never kissed a guy before, but he was pretty sure he was never going to wanna kiss anybody besides Liam anyways.

“What did you do?” Liam sounded a bit breathless as he laughed once he noticed what had happened, the blonde just sitting there, not really knowing what to do, just staring at the other boy. Or at least lips actually, because they did seem a bit swollen and so fucking kissable and if Niall just leaned over again and- “Here. You alright?”

“What?” Niall hadn’t been listening, he had been so captivated by the way Liam’s lips were moving whenever he spoke, just flinching a bit when Liam suddenly pressed some tissues on his upper thigh in order to attempt and dry his jeans. “It’s only water.”

“Yeah, I know, I wasn’t referring to that, actually.” When their eyes met, Liam’s were really soft and beautiful as ever and Niall simply could not believe that somebody like him would ever wanna be with Niall. “You… you wanted me to do this, right? I didn’t like, I don’t know, surprise you or anything? It was-“

“Perfect.” Niall blurted out without thinking, causing Liam to rise his eyebrows before he started grinning, his eyes getting wrinkly and honestly, the blonde was a bit embarrassed but on the other hand he didn’t regret saying it. 

“Okay, good. I’m glad you feel that way because I enjoyed it as well.” Right, so why wasn’t he doing it again then?! Fuck, why had Niall spilled that stupid water, he could have still been snogging Liam right now. “Maybe we should still talk about it though.”

“What do you wanna talk about?” Talking felt weird because all Niall could focus on was Liam’s mouth and it was hard concentrating on anything really when he had such a clear memory of what it felt like to be kissing this boy, the boy he had been crushing on and fantasized about for 2 fucking years. No idea why Liam had done that, Niall actually didn’t even care right now, he surely would alone at home in a few hours though. 

“The fact that we just snogged, maybe?” Liam seemed to be highly amused, which was good because that meant he couldn’t have been regretting it, right? Plus, his hand was still on Niall’s thigh, apparently not caring that it was drenched in water. “Like, I had a feeling you might have had a bit of a crush on me, but I wasn’t really that sure at first, so just so we’re clear… you do wanna, like, be more than just… friends? … right?”

“I, yeah, I do, totally.” Niall was rambling, which was causing Liam to grin, but the blondes heart was racing and he was having 10 million thoughts at once, so watching his exact words wasn’t really the number one priority. Did Liam mean what Niall thought he meant? “So you… you like me? I mean, you know, like _that_?”

“Like what?” Now Liam was teasing, chuckling when the blonde rolled his eyes and as if he had done it a million times before, he actually leaned over to kiss Niall’s cheek, just like that, as if it was nothing. “I thought you were pretty cute all along but when we hung out at the library, I thought we really get along and then the times after that and today, I mean… we don’t know each other for that long, I guess, but then again, we’ve actually known each other since 2 years. I just feel like we really get along and I like you, yeah.”

“You think I’m cute?” Niall had pretty much ignored everything Liam had been rambling on about after that word, like, he just couldn’t wrap his head around that statement and just… what?! Liam Payne thought he was _cute_?

“I do.” He was watching Niall closely, studying his face and stuff, probably surprised by how blushed the blonde was but it’s not like it mattered now. Liam did seem slightly nervous for some reason, but maybe that was just Niall’s imagination running wild or something because he couldn’t fucking believe this and he actually thought he was dreaming again. “You, uh, you’d be okay with that, right? Like, if we went on more dates and like, see where it goes and-“

“Yeah, totally.” Again, the blonde answered way too quickly, cutting Liam off mid-sentence but at least it seemed to help the brunette relax , going back to his old self immediately as he leaned against the back of the bench, petting the blonde’s thigh. See, all this touching and snogging and confessing was making Niall’s brain mushy, but there was still no excuse for him clearly overstepping a line, just straight out saying it, right to Liam’s fucking face without even hesitating. “I’ve had a crush on you since two years.”

“Wh- for real?” Liam seemed to think it was a joke at first, but then he just stared at the blonde nodding, already regretting what he had said, but he wasn’t gonna pretend it was a joke now because he was a terrible liar. No idea how Louis still fell for it.

“Yeah, uh, forget I said that.” Niall let out a nervous giggle, his hands shaking as he scratched his head just to have something to do, looking away from Liam because he felt embarrassed. Well, embarrassed but also somehow as if he was floating, because what? Liam wanted to go on more dates and possibly snog some more and see where it goes?! “Pretty pathetic, now that I think about it.”

“How is that pathetic?” The brunette seemed to be seriously confused for a moment, his smile immediately coming back though as Niall turned his head again, kinda regretting it when he saw the older’s smirk. “So you did really only come watch the football training for me? I didn’t just make that up in my head?”

“You were pretending in your head that I only came for you? That’s pretty conceited.” Niall joked because deep down, he actually wanted to die from embarrassment. The fact that Liam had noticed him watching the team during training so many times had already made him feel exposed, but this… 

“Well, obviously I wasn’t only pretending because it’s the truth. Wow, I can’t believe I’ve got a proper fanboy slash groupie.” Was it weird that Niall wanted to both kiss Liam but also push him off the bench right now for laughing so hysterically over his own joke? At least he was taking it with humor though, now Niall actually felt pretty stupid for ever having been so nervous around Liam because of his feelings, he was suddenly pretty sure that had he just told Liam about his crush from day one, the brunette wouldn’t have minded. For whatever reason, he seemed to be into Niall as well.

“I’m not a groupie, ‘cos I’m not having sex with you.” Right, that somehow reminded Niall a little bit of the conversation he had had with Louis today and he would have gotten worried that maybe that had been Liam’s intention all along, but the brunette quickly changed his mind.

“Well, then just fanboy, I’m good with that. And don’t worry, I don’t have sex on the first date either.” Liam seemed to be in a really good mood, he actually wrapped his arm around the blonde’s shoulders as he spoke, pulling him a bit closer and Niall felt a little bit breathless, not at all trying to pull away though. He was loving this so fucking much, even if he was still somehow in shock and not sure if he’d be able to believe this had happened tomorrow morning. 

“I’m also not a _fan_ , Liam. You could have literally just been standing there not doing anything, I told you I know nothing about football.” Niall felt a bit more comfortable discussing this now, being so close to Liam and all was somehow calming and it made him feel more secure to know that the brunette didn’t at all mind discussing the blonde crushing on him.

“Well, then I gotta teach you, I can’t go out with someone who knows nothing about my only hobby.” It was clearly a joke, but Niall still felt a little bit worried, because in all honesty, he was good just staring at Liam being sweaty.

“I think you gotta get used to it though, I’m not like the chicks you usually date.” Okay, maybe there had been a hint of jealousy in that statement, also because Niall couldn’t stop thinking about what Louis had said today and what he had seen himself. Liam dating a lot of different people and stuff, all the rumors, it was slightly worrying.

“Jealous?” Liam asked with one eyebrow pulled up and a smirk on his face, but he seemed to have noticed that Niall wasn’t really amused when he simply shrugged and looked away because the brunette’s voice changed immediately, his arm around Niall tightening a bit. “Hey… I know that people say a lot of things about me, because yeah, I did date a few people at uni, but a lot of people have done that. And it’s not true that I used them or that I’m a fuckboy or whatever else people say, it’s never come from the people I’ve been with because it never happened. It were just normal relationships and then they ended or sometimes it were also one night stands that we both wanted though.”

“I didn’t need so many details.” Really though, Liam could have stopped after the first sentence but Niall was trying really hard not to come off too jealous now. He had dated other people as well, it was no big deal and at least his worries about the rumors about Liam being a fuckboy were being eased a little bit.

“Awww, I’m sorry, babe.” The ‘babe’ gave Niall a few goosebumps, almost as many as Liam’s lips pressed against his cheek once more. “I’ve never taken anybody on a date like today. And I’ve also never tried this hard to hang out with somebody or taken them to the next city.”

“Am I supposed to believe that?” Niall wasn’t going to just give in although inside he had already turned all soft and mushy again, wanting nothing more than to just turn his head and kiss the brunette again, preferably forever.

“That’s your decision.” Liam shrugged, as if he was pretty damn convinced by what he had just told the blonde and Niall tried not to feel too flattered as he considered that maybe the brunette was speaking the truth.

For just a moment, Niall looked down at the city lights, deciding that there was no need to freak out over Liam dating people before him or the fact that maybe they weren’t going to work out. There was never any security, was there? And there was no need to ruin this moment right here by worrying about the future. So instead, he decided that maybe he should have told Liam about other stuff. 

“I’ve never been with a guy before. Actually… I never really considered liking guys for real before you.” Well, Niall HAD considered it, but he had never had a crush on a guy before, not like that.

“Really?” Liam didn’t sound too surprised though for some reason, which helped the blonde to relax once again, trying to remind himself to stop being so afraid of the other boy’s reactions. “Well, not that surprising, I’m just exceptionally amazing and gorgeous.”

“Oh my god, shut up.” Of course he had been bound to say something like that, giggling like an idiot afterwards and Niall joined because he couldn’t help himself. Though it had been a joke, Liam was right anyways. 

“No, but I’m glad then, that I made you realize you’re into guys, ‘cos otherwise we wouldn’t be here right now.” He seemed to actually mean it, his face serious when Niall turned his head to look at the brunette, not even getting the chance to close his eyes when Liam leaned over all of a sudden to kiss the blonde right on the mouth. 

“I don’t know if… if I’m really into guys.” Because actually, Niall was just really into Liam, more than he had ever been into anyone before and it was slightly scary.

“Then it’s just me then, even better.” Liam was smiling pretty big now, suddenly lifting the hand on Niall’s shoulder to play with his hair, giving the younger boy goosebumps down his spine. Pretty sure he had never in his life felt this happy as right in that moment. “So should we tell Harry and Louis?”

“No?!” Almost immediately, Niall was once again completely shocked by the older boy seemingly caring so little about anybody finding out about _this_. Even more, actually, he just wanted to go and straight up tell people!

“Why not?” That seemed to genuinely confuse the older boy, but he was still playing with Niall’s hair, making it quite hard for Niall to actually try and find an argument.

“Because… we can’t just tell them the very next day and… anyways, we don’t even know, like… what will happen.” But the fact though that Liam wanted to tell their friends already had to mean he was somewhat serious, right? And as much as Niall was terrified about telling Louis, this did give him some sort of secureness.

“So, you wanna keep it a secret from our friends and keep on lying to your best friend when you could just tell him and be done with it?” Yeah, okay, that did sound a bit stupid. “You’ve not only been crushing on me though and wanna go on dates with me because you enjoy the fact that we have to keep it a secret, right?”

“Wait, what?” Niall hadn’t understood just one word of that, he had still been busy looking for excuses so they wouldn’t have to tell Harry and Louis when Liam had suddenly gotten all serious again.

“Like, it’s not just the sneaking around you enjoy when we hang out? As if… as if I was your dirty little secret or something?” Though Liam was clearly joking at the last part, he was staring into Niall’s eyes as if he was trying to look into his soul and suddenly the blonde felt really bad. Is that what Liam was thinking of him?!

“No, that’s not the reason at all, I’m not enjoying the fact that we have to keep it a secret and it was also never why I had a crush on you.” It had rather been Liam’s looks at first, but there was really no need to say that now because now that they knew each other Niall liked him for all sorts of things. “Um… but it’s also not that for you, right?”

“Clearly not, I really wanna tell Louis and Harry and I fucking hate that we’re gonna have to hide it in public. But, like… I’ve done this before and it works, it’s just extra hard with you and me.” Right, apparently Liam had been with other guys and Niall really did not wanna know any names or any details, because he was getting jealous just thinking about it. 

“And you still wanna take the risk for me?” Niall couldn’t help but ask, he just still couldn’t understand where Liam was coming from, but the soft look on the brunette’s face right after the blonde had asked gave Niall more than just a few butterflies. 

“Any day.” Was all Liam said, all serious as well and Niall rolled his eyes as he turned his head from embarrassment. In reality though, he was actually screaming inside.

“Don’t be so cheesy.” Seriously though, Liam was cracking all these jokes and stuff, but he was actually really bloody romantic and Niall hadn’t known it was possible to like somebody else this much.

“Why? You’re clearly enjoying it.” Liam was looking right through him, his lips pressed against Niall’s cheek once more before the blonde could have even prepared himself and who could have really judged him for never wanting it to end? “If you think that was cheesy though then I think you gotta prepare yourself for something.”

“Like what?” Okay, Niall shouldn’t be challenging Liam, because this boy had driven them to a hill an hour away from home just so they could look at the stars because the blonde had randomly mentioned that he liked things about space.

“Like that I think your eyes are really pretty and your cheek is really soft and I didn’t change my sheets since last Friday because I kinda like that they smell like you.” Niall was so screwed, like honestly, he was _so_ screwed. “I didn’t know you could get anymore blushed, but wow.”

“I’m not blushed.” Niall almost immediately said without thinking about it and though Liam could _see_ it despite the darkness, making the brunette laugh. Still, now that Niall was already embarrassed anyways, he could as well ask what he really wanted to know, right? “Did you mean that with your sheets though?”

“You’re so cute.” Liam was just laughing now, suddenly wrapping his other arm around the blonde as well and it’d be a lie to say that Niall wasn’t enjoying the hell out of it, leaning into Liam because they definitely weren’t close enough for his liking. “But yeah, I did mean that. I’ll come lie in yours so you know what I mean.”

“Did you just invite yourself over to my house?” Actually, he had invited himself over to Niall’s bed. 

“I guess. But my parents are gone a lot anyways, so it’s fine if we can’t ever go to your house.” Apparently, they had now gone over to planning their next time hanging out and Niall really had nothing against that at all. Was it stupid that he now really wanted Liam to lie in his bed as well? How often had he actually fantasized about that and now it could actually happen?

“You could come to my house though, my parents sometimes work at night and my brother goes out a lot, or maybe… maybe you could climb in through the window.” Niall was actually very thrilled about that idea, looking at Liam to wait for his approval but the brunette seemed a bit unsure. “No, seriously, it’s not that high and there’s a tree and you could totally make it.”

“You want me to sneak into your room by climbing up a tree?” Right, maybe that did sound a little bit crazy, but either way, if Liam had known Niall’s garden, he might have given it a go. “So much about not being your dirty secret, huh?”

“Are you gonna be saying that until I agree to tell Louis?” Niall wasn’t going to do it, at least not for now, he really needed some time to think about it and he also needed to see where this was going because as much as he was enjoying himself right now and as sweet and romantic Liam was being, who knew what would happen tomorrow?

“Yep, totally.” Liam agreed immediately and the blonde rolled his eyes, trying to have some courage as he gave himself a push and leaned his head against the older’s shoulder. Yeah, that had definitely been worth being nervous for 2 seconds. “I thought he’s your best friend though, why don’t you wanna tell him?”

“Because I don’t wanna have to tell him that I’ve kept this from him for two years and that I was lying about stuff and… he’d ask so many questions and I really don’t know if he’d be that good at keeping it a secret. I mean, maybe he’d stare at you really obviously or something or like, wanna hang out because he doesn’t take the thing with our families serious enough and my dad is already up my back because of Harry.” Of course Niall didn’t think Louis would purposely make their life harder or try to ruin Niall’s, but Louis could still accidentally do or say something. “I’m just… kinda scared of what could happen.” 

“Okay, I understand that, I’m kinda scared as well, but I do think that we could trust Louis and Harry and I feel like they’re going to find out anyways, Louis at least. It’s up to you though, I won’t get onto your nerves about it if you don’t wanna say anything.” He seemed to genuinely mean it because he squeezed the blonde afterwards, kissing his head and it already felt like they were a couple or something even though they had only ever been on one single date. “It’s gonna be fine.”

“Sounds like you’re comforting me because something terrible happened… “ Truly though, maybe them liking each other was kind of terrible considering the whole situation and stuff. Out of anybody, Liam had been the very worst person Niall could have fallen for and the blonde actually got kinda anxious thinking ahead in the future. But who knew if Liam would still like him then anyways.

“No, but, I mean, it is kind of complicated. And I actually spent all day yesterday thinking about what would happen if we were actually, like, dating, but… I figured I don’t really care what might happen.” Liam using the word ‘dating’ got Niall feeling all sort of things but luckily his head was on the older’s shoulder so he couldn’t actually look at the blonde and read him like an open book like he always seemed to do. “But if you think that we’re being too risky or-“

“No.” Niall immediately interrupted, because he had wanted this for two years and hell, he would have done anything Liam was willing to do with him. “I, uh… I really like you, so… and I don’t care if we have to keep it a secret from everyone and that it’s really risky.”

“Okay, good. We can always come here if we can’t go any other place.” True, the next city was always only an hour away and Liam had a car and maybe that was kinda impractical, but Niall would have sat in a car for five hours every day if that meant he could be with Liam. “Niall… “

“Hm?” The blonde waited for Liam to say something, but when he didn’t, he forced himself to lift his head from its very comfortable place on Liam’s shoulder and before he could even take a breath, the older boy was suddenly kissing him again, wasting no time to deepen the kiss and pull the blonde closer, washing his worries away at an instant.

 

\------------

 

They stayed for quite a while, just making out on that bench on the top of the hill, at some point realizing that they still had a lot of food left that had gone cold by then. Niall’s lips were kinda aching by the time they went back into the car and he already missed Liam’s arm around him and being so close to him.

Though Niall was more than excited about tonight’s events when they drove back home and couldn’t stand the thought of having to separate from Liam soon, he did somehow manage to fall asleep in the car after like 15 minutes of Liam driving, still using one of the blankets the older boy had brought because Liam wasn’t warming him up anymore.

“We’re here, babe… “ Liam’s voice was soft and the blonde slowly blinked his eyes open to the older boy rubbing his arm over the blanket, almost immediately wanting to fall back asleep though just so he wouldn’t have to actually leave the brunette. “Well, not really, but as close to your house as I can stop the car.”

“Can’t we just… stay here for 10 more minutes or so?” Niall had been interrupted by a jaw, attempting to sit up a bit more straight as he rubbed his eyes with his fists, feeling pretty sleepy and weak but at the same time as if he was high from everything that had happened today. He still couldn’t believe it actually, but it HAD to be real because he had just woken up to Liam calling him babe.

“We definitely can, but you’d probably sleep a lot better in your bed.” True, Niall would have maybe denied that he would be able to sleep at all tonight, but that would clearly not be the case. 

“Probably, but… you’re not in my bed.” After a second of hesitation, Niall decided to just say it, shrugging when he saw the grin spreading across Liam’s face, as if he was genuinely happy to hear that. “If my mom and my brother weren’t at home right now I’d ask you to sneak up into my room with me.”

“But how’d I get to uni in the morning and where’d I park my car?” Right, that plan had a few holes still. “We’ll see each other tomorrow anyways, Ni, and the team’s got a training as well.”

“I don’t know if I’ll come though, now that I can just call you when I wanna look at you.” It was a joke, but Niall tried to make it look as if he was genuinely thinking about it and just for a second, Liam seemed to actually be shocked. “So that’s what it feels like to make things up all the time, I think I get the appeal now.”

“That really wasn’t nice, babe, I’m kinda pissed off now.” When Liam was pretending to be sad, it was actually so terrible that Niall never ever wanted to find out what it would have been like if he had been sad for real. Still, it was all just for fun and giggles and the corner of the brunette’s mouth was twitching.

“ _You’re_ pissed off? You let me believe you’ve dated Harry.” Honestly looking back at that, Niall was still somewhat upset.

“That got you real jealous, huh?” Liam’s grin was slowly coming back, making the blonde roll his eyes because yes, that had indeed made him very jealous. 

“I think I gotta go inside now.” Niall did actually grab the door handle, without any intention to really leave the car though without kissing Liam again and hearing him say once more that they were gonna see each other tomorrow. 

“Alright, then.” Was all Liam said, actually letting the blonde fold up the blanket as slowly as humanly possible, again reaching for the door handle, his other hand around his backpack that he had left in the car for quite a few hours now. 

When Niall realized that Liam was too good at playing this game and that he would have possibly let the blonde get out of the car completely before saying something, it was Niall then who gave in because he wanted to kiss the brunette so badly he thought he was going insane. “Screw it.”

“Wh-“

Before Liam could ask what Niall meant, the blonde had already leaned over, not immediately pressing his lips on top of the older boy’s, waiting until the brunette’s hand was cupping his cheek. A few hours ago, Niall would have never been brave enough to kiss Liam like that, but right now, he actually felt a bit overeager, snogging the other boy over the car seats.

The thing was, Niall had no idea when they would be this close again because yeah, they could of course text and the blonde could watch Liam play football and _maybe_ they could look at each other, but that was basically it. Plus, they couldn’t always just drive to a different city and hang out there and most of the time they probably couldn’t go home to either of their houses, so thinking about that now did make the blonde a bit nervous. 

“Maybe you could really try climbing in through my window…” Niall tried once more as they pulled apart, their lips still brushing and Liam kissed him again before answering, his lips as swollen as Niall’s felt like.

“I promise I’ll try that at some point when nobody’s home, okay?” It sounded like he was going to keep that promise so Niall just sighed, feeling better though when Liam grabbed a hold of his hand, squeezing it a bit. “I’ll see you tomorrow then?”

“Yeah, I guess… thanks for today. And especially for paying for everything and for planning it all.” And also for kissing Niall and being into him for whatever crazy reason.

“You’re welcome, I mean, I kinda did it for myself as well, so… “ Liam smiled and he was just so fucking cute and sweet that Niall couldn’t help but lean over one more time to kiss the older’s cheek, something he had been wanting to do since forever.

“See you tomorrow.” At some point, Niall did have to get out of that car, so he tried to do it as quickly as possible before he’d change his mind again, his lips still tingling and his heart beating as if he had just run up two flats of stairs. 

“Sleep tight, babe.” Liam’s voice was soft and Niall looked at him one more time before closing the car door behind himself, as quietly as possible because even though they were a street away from Niall’s parents’ house, he didn’t need to push their luck.

When Niall was lying in bed a little while later, he tried to fight sleep for a bit, recalling exactly how Liam’s lips had felt against his, and his tongue in his mouth, his palm pressed against his cheek, the way he smelled and his hand in the younger boy’s, just in case he’d never get to experience any of that ever again.

 

\------------------------

 

_Liam 09:02 am  
Hope you slept well, cant wait to see you today <3_

 

Niall could barely believe that night had happened if it hadn’t been for the text message he received just when he was walking out of the door the next day. That stupid grin on his face stayed pretty much until he had reached uni and even then he was having a really hard time getting over what Liam had texted him. 

It was just so unbelievable to the blonde, to receive these kinda messages from _Liam_ , out of anyone. He knew that there was a possibility that they wouldn’t even be able to talk in person today and that Liam had literally meant just SEEING the blonde, but that was still enough for Niall right now. 

“You know, I was thinking, if you could borrow me your notes for a day or so and I’d just copy them then I’d maybe have an actual chance of passing the exam. Just because I know you’re a lot smarter than me and you also write a lot faster, so… “ Louis was honestly trying to compliment Niall just so he could borrow his notes and the blonde would have laughed had he not been focused on Liam all across the cafeteria. 

“You can just ask for them, here.” Niall actually didn’t care, he just reached into his bag, handing over his whole notebook because the classes he still had left today didn’t require him to take notes anyways.

“Seriously? Thanks, Nialler.” The older boy sounded really surprised, but Niall only briefly smiled at him before looking down at his phone as it lit up.

 

_Liam 01:03 pm  
I can see you staring at me you know_

 

The blonde wanted to roll his eyes, but instead, he just smiled some more as he texted back, almost completely forgetting that his best friend was sitting opposite him.

 

_To Liam 01:04 pm  
Howd you know if you weren’t looking at me_

 

“You’re in a really good mood.” Obviously Louis was trying to make it sound like pure observation rather than a question, but Niall still felt a bit caught as he locked his phone so that maybe his friend wouldn’t think he was in a good mood because of that. “And it’s only Tuesday.”

“Yeah, I mean, I’ve had a lot of sleep and I’ve only got a few classes left. Why would I be in a bad mood?” Well, to be fair, Niall had kinda been in a not so great mood before Liam had happened and maybe he shouldn’t have even been now, considering the fact that he was snogging Liam in secret and that he wasn’t even allowed to properly look at him right now. 

“Don’t know, I was just wondering.” Louis was trying really hard to make it sound like he didn’t care, but the blonde knew him way too long for that. Great, now he felt bad again for having lied to his best friend so damn often. “Who were you texting?”

“I wasn’t texting anybody.” And here Niall went again just straight up lying into Louis’ face without even thinking about it. He couldn’t tell him though, not even if Liam wanted them to, because Niall still couldn’t believe that any of this was real and how embarrassing would it be if Liam just decided that maybe this wasn’t for him after all? Or if Louis accidentally did or said something? Telling him would have only put them at even more risk. “I think I see Harry over there.”

“Where?” Louis turned around just to look for him and luckily just this one time, the blonde hadn’t actually been lying, pretty relieved as well to see Harry over there. “Oh, yeah. Does that mean you have to leave? Or did your dad calm down already?”

“I think it’d be better if I wait for a bit until I’m around Harry again.” It was bad enough that his brother still saw him hanging out with Louis after all. “And I gotta go to the bathroom anyways. See you in class?”

“Yeah, sure.” The older boy smiled at Niall before the blonde left, making sure though to avoid Harry as much as possible, which led to him walking pretty close past where Liam was sitting with his friends, their eyes meeting for about 0.1 seconds, reminding the blonde to check his phone again.

 

_Liam 01:05 pm  
I never said I wasn’t, how could I NOT be looking at you when you walk around looking that gorgeous?_

 

Gosh, Liam was so fucking good at this and at making Niall blush and giddy and all sort of things that he had never even known he was able to feel. Maybe it was wrong, to already be so caught up into this when Niall had no idea what was going to happen, but he had no reason at all to believe that Liam was lying to him or that he had any other reason to do this other than the fact that he really seemed to like him. So he could as well enjoy it, right?

Niall made sure to text Liam back on his way to the bathroom, already feeling a little bit impatient about only getting to see him again in a bit. Well, to _properly_ see him anyways.

The thing with Harry was on Niall’s mind as well though as he walked to his class, seeing as he didn’t even know what Louis had told his boyfriend in detail and also because the blonde actually had no idea at all if it would _ever_ be safe for him to hang out with Harry again. It’s not like Niall desperately wanted to or anything, but Harry was nice and he was Louis’ best friend after all, so… maybe Niall really should have told his best friend about Liam, but what would that have changed anyways? Right, nothing.

Liam was texting Niall all kinds of things as the blonde walked through the hallways, again making him smile pretty stupidly at his phone. It felt really good though, to just talk with Liam throughout the day and the brunette making him so happy without even trying that hard. Or maybe he was, but he made it seem really easy somehow and Niall couldn’t have been in a better mood.

Still, he made sure not to use his phone too much during class when he was next to Louis again a while later, not wanting to make his best friend too suspicious. Louis did tell Niall that Harry had told him to tell Niall that he completely understood the blonde avoiding him and that it was all fine, which of course made Niall feel kinda bad, but he was trying real hard to not let it show.

When Niall said goodbye to Louis, he tried to act as normally as possible, not as if he was absolutely buzzing to go and see Liam and his team training. Louis didn’t ask Niall to hang out every day, but he did do it quite a lot, so Niall actually wondered whether his friend was pissed off when he didn’t say a word today, but he did hug Niall, again thanking him for the notes.

“Can I call you later? I gotta babysit again and I’ll be super bored.” They had already pulled apart again and Louis was pulling a face as if he was annoyed, but really, Niall knew that he didn’t care all too much babysitting his siblings. 

“Sure. I just don’t know yet if I’m gonna pick up.” Niall joked, laughing when he saw his friend’s pissed off facial expression. “I’m just kidding, Lou. See you tomorrow.”

“Or tonight, if I decide to Facetime you.” It had sounded a little bit like a threat, but Niall wouldn’t have cared anyways. Well, as long as Louis really stuck to the _tonight_ and didn’t mean in like an hour because Niall would be very busy doing other things then. “Are you not going home?”

“No, I need the bathroom.” A new lie, but then again, maybe Niall would actually go to the bathroom and look in a mirror, seeing as Liam could apparently look all the way across the field. 

“Again? I think you’ve got a bladder problem or something.” That had Niall rolling his eyes as Louis grinned, walking backwards for a second as he waved at the blonde. “Don’t forget to wash your hands.”

“Bye, Lou.” Niall made sure to turn around and walk away then, kinda getting a bit anxious about not getting to the sports field in time even though it literally didn’t even matter one bit.

Like expected, Niall still arrived really early, actually freezing a bit because it was quite cold, but there were other people as well just doing uni work, so the blonde didn’t even stand out as he got one of his books out of his backpack as he waited, a little bit surprised when Liam texted him again though he had said he was already changing. 

 

_Liam 03:08 pm  
If you don’t have anything planned after, don’t leave just yet ok?_

 

That was really surprising, but it also got Niall’s heart beating faster at an instant. He did immediately text Liam back to ask why he wanted the blonde to stay, really hoping that Liam was going to tell him he had yet again planned for them to do something together. Instead though, the blonde only got a very cryptic answer.

 

_Liam 03:10 pm  
;)_

 

No idea what that was supposed to mean, but it definitely got the blonde really excited. Then again, Liam could have probably sent him an empty message and Niall would have still been thrilled, as stupid as that was. Who wouldn’t have been though? It was Liam fucking Payne and though no one seemed quite as obsessed with him as Niall had been for 2 years, the blonde was aware that there were probably a lot of people crushing on him. On the boy he was kinda going out with.

Normally Niall would have listened to music or something, but he kinda enjoyed listening to Liam yelling at his team across the field once they had come out. Of course the brunette looked exceptional as always and now that he knew that Niall was here for him, the blonde didn’t even bother pretending that he wasn’t staring at him anymore.

Liam did look over once a while, even grinning sometimes and Niall was blushing even though it was fucking ridiculous to get embarrassed over that. The training didn’t last too long, but Liam seemed to be trying really hard for some reason, as if it was a real game or something, and by the time they all left the field again a bit over an hour later, the brunette was dripping in sweat and Niall really tried not to get turned on by that.

So then the blonde just waited, sitting in the stands with his phone in his hand, trying not to be impatient. Of course he could have done the actual reading he had to do until tomorrow, but simply waiting for Liam to text him did have priority right now. It’s not like Niall could have concentrated anyways as he was trying to figure out what Liam was planning on them doing.

It certainly didn’t turn out to be what Niall had thought.

 

_Liam 04:58 pm  
Come to the locker rooms_

 

First of all, Niall was actually really hesitant as he packed his bag, but half an hour had passed by and it was Tuesday, so maybe all of Liam’s teammates were already gone? But then again, there were other people on campus still and it wasn’t dark outside and sometimes Liam seemed to not worry too much about anybody catching them.

Of course Niall still went to the lockers, making sure to look as carefree as possible, especially because he wasn’t even really supposed to be in there. They were inside the building, slightly away from the football field actually and the door was open so Niall walked inside slowly, not really knowing what to expect.

It seemed to be empty and the blonde was about to text Liam, but instead he got the fright of his life when he heard the door closing behind him and the key turning in the lock, for a second thinking that somebody had actually locked him in here. “Jesus, Liam, you scared me.”

“Sorry, babe.” Liam was laughing of course, he was already showered, wearing a tight shirt and sweatpants, his hair still wet, still looking energetic and happy after working out for over an hour. 

“You’ve got a key for the locker room?” Niall was a bit suspicious, barely able to think about it though because the brunette had already come over, simply taking the blonde’s backpack off of him and letting it drop to the ground, his hands settling on Niall’s hip. 

“Yeah, I need it, I’m the one scheduling all the training sessions.” He explained as if it was obvious, licking his lips and staring Niall so deep into his eyes that the blonde actually felt himself getting hot. They were so close now, all alone, and Liam’s hands felt like they were burning holes into the younger’s hoodie. In a good way though, if that was possible. 

“And we can just be in here?” Talking and thinking was hard when Liam was so damn close, smelling so fucking good and his lips looking so kissable. 

“I’m the captain and I’ve got the key, I can do whatever I want.” And then Liam shrugged before leaning in even closer, half a smile on his face as he let his forehead bump gently against Niall’s and the blonde let his eyes fall closed, breathing the other boy in as he slowly moved his arms to wrap around Liam’s neck. “How was your day?”

“Hmm, good.” Niall mumbled, wanting nothing more than to just kiss Liam right on the spot. They had never done something like this, they had kissed of course and held hands and stuff, but this felt more intimate than just sitting on a bench, almost too good to be true. “I liked watching you play… “

“Yeah? I tried extra hard for you.” It kinda sounded like a joke, but then again, it really had seemed as if he had been trying extra hard or something. Either way, Niall didn’t care all too much because a second later, Liam _finally_ leaned in even closer until their lips were brushing and the blonde kinda automatically grabbed a fistful of Liam’s hair.

The kiss was really soft and gentle, Liam didn’t immediately try to deepen it and though Niall absolutely loved snogging him, this was really nice as well. Liam was pulling him in closer until they were chest to chest and Niall tightened his arms in return without even noticing, pulling on the older’s hair because he had been dreaming about touching it so damn often.

When Liam slowly dragged his tongue across Niall’s lower lip, the younger boy immediately relaxed his jaw, overeager to deepen the kiss and be even closer to the brunette, taste him again because he had already forgotten what it had felt like last night. There were so many butterflies in Niall’s stomach and his skin was covered in goosebumps from the moment Liam licked into his mouth, making everything else seem pretty damn pointless.

Niall had no idea how long they stood there, in the middle of the locker room, snogging each other senseless, he just knew that at some point, his back did hit a wall and Liam was crowding him against it as he kissed him even more desperately. Niall’s lunges were literally screaming for air but he didn’t ever pull away, kept on kissing Liam until the brunette was the one to turn his head a bit, both of them breathing heavily as they kept holding onto each other. 

There was nothing to say really, Liam just kept his forehead pressed against Niall’s as they both tried to catch some air, Niall’s lips feeling swollen and wet and everything smelled like Liam and he couldn’t have thought of a place he’d rather be, ever. Honestly, had Liam tried to get into his pants right now, Niall wouldn’t have given it a second thought. 

“You smell good… “ Liam suddenly said, after kissing down the younger’s jawline and Niall would have laughed had he had the energy to.

“I didn’t shower last night… “ It was true, Niall hadn’t showered in more than a day and also, he was wearing the exact same clothes and yet it hadn’t sounded as if Liam had been lying. 

“If I had known I would have waited for you before I had one...” The brunette said it just like that, half mumbling it into Niall’s cheek as if he wanted to make the younger boy as blushed as somehow possible. 

“Next time.” Niall said even though he felt a bit reckless doing it, but just the thought got him so excited he almost wanted to suggest that Liam could just shower again. He needed to get it together though, they didn’t know each other THAT well even though it felt like it and Niall had only found out last night that Liam seemed to like him like that, he couldn’t immediately get naked with him. Well, he COULD have, of course, but he wasn’t the only one deciding over that.

“Next time, huh?” Liam was laughing softly, right against the younger’s skin and Niall let his eyes fall closed again for just a moment, only focusing on how close Liam was right now, his body pressing into the younger boy’s, fingers digging into his sides. “I don’t know if I just wanna see you in here though…”

“Our options are a bit limited.” Actually, Niall found this very exciting, nobody could come in here, Liam had literally locked the door and left the key in the lock and the windows were up really high and anyways, who would have tried to look inside? This was actually perfect, although the blonde had to admit that he would probably change his mind after a while.

“Hmm, but we can always just drive away or go to one of our houses if nobody is home. And we’ve got the library.” True, the library, Niall had completely forgotten about that, but then again, they had only hung out there two times anyways.

“But we can’t make out in the library.” It kinda slipped out, but that truly was Niall’s biggest concern, immediately causing Liam to lift his head as he laughed at the younger boy and Niall was a little bit blushed but he just shrugged anyways. “There are actually a lot of things we can’t do in the library, you’re right, that was a bad suggestion.”

“What kinda things?” Niall kept pushing, not really knowing what he was trying to ask the brunette but Liam just winked at him anyways, kissing Niall on the lips once more before very slowly stepping away from him, apparently thinking that the blonde was just going to lower his arms. No way. “Where are you going?”

“I was just trying to sit down.” Liam wasn’t actively trying to make Niall let go of him though, he actually stepped closer again with a smile on his lips, rubbing the blonde’s hips. “You ever gonna let go of me again?”

“Hmm, no.” The blonde said it just because he wanted to know what it’d sound like and also because he had really been wanting to see Liam’s reaction to it.

The brunette seemed to be pretty pleased with that answer actually, he stepped closer until Niall’s head was hitting the wall once more, leaning down as if he was about to kiss him, but right when the blonde thought their lips were about to meet, Liam’s mouth only brushed his cheek and jaw as the brunette wrapped his arms around Niall’s middle. Okay, that had been unexpected.

They were now hugging, which was fine of course, but it still took Niall by surprise as he breathed the older boy in, his heart beating fast because of how tightly Liam was holding him. “What’re you doing?”

“Hugging you?” Well, Niall had gotten that part but he refrained from rolling his eyes because Liam couldn’t have seen him anyways, instead pressing his face in between his own arm and the brunette’s neck , feeling warmth spreading in his stomach. “I just realized that we’ve snogged a couple of times now but I’ve never hugged you just once, maybe that’s a bit weird.”

“It’s not weird… “ It was just unbelievable to Niall, that things had happened within one minute to the other, and it’s not that he thought Liam was just pretending because it was definitely possible to immediately click and for them to like each other after such a short time, the blonde just couldn’t get over how lucky he was. “But I do like hugging you.”

“Well, good, I was afraid you’d only wanna see me so we can make out.” It was obviously a joke, Niall felt Liam’s body vibrate against his as he laughed, not making any move as if he wanted to let go again anytime soon. 

“You caught me, I’m just _enduring_ this hug right now, I actually just want you for your looks.” Liam knew that he was good looking, right? It was fine to say that, surely everybody thought so.

“You tryna tease me by making me compliments? That’s new.” Okay, that hadn’t been very smooth at all, Liam was amused though, so that was something. 

“Whatever, I was just joking.” Niall tried to save his dignity, at the same time not caring too much though because it was just for laughter anyways. 

“Yeah? So you think I’m ugly?” God, how did Liam manage to actually sound so damn sad all of a sudden? He just wanted Niall to say that he thought he was gorgeous, it didn’t take a genius to figure that out. 

“If it helps, Louis thinks you look like a model.” He had said that after all, hadn’t he? Or at least something in that direction, Niall couldn’t really recall the conversation all too well though it had only been yesterday.

“Did he actually say that?” Liam actually sounded pretty eager to find out, which was only slightly irritating to Niall.

“He did. Why, are you making yourself any hopes that he’s gonna leave Harry for you?” Niall just couldn’t help it, the flicker of jealousy going through him sometimes and _of course_ Liam always caught on immediately.

“Wow, I’m so glad that secret is out, now I can stop pretending to like you. Will you put in a good word for me?” Okay, that was it.

“Yeah, I can do it right fucking now actually since we’re done here.” Niall did try to pull away, but Liam wouldn’t let him budge, just hugging him even more tightly until the blonde could barely breathe, trying not to be too upset. He knew it had been a joke, but still.

“Sorry, that was mean.” Liam apologized almost immediately, actually sounding really serious but that wasn’t going to cut it so Niall was still weakly fighting the other’s arms around him. “I promise I won’t say anything like that again. Are you still mad?”

“Yes.” Actually, Niall just wanted to know what else he could get Liam to say. “Let me go.”

“No, I wanna keep on hugging you.” He really did seem to enjoy hugging Niall a whole lot more than the blonde would have expected and now he was real fucking glad that Liam had thought it was weird that they had never done it because otherwise the blonde might have had to wait ages to know what this felt like.

“If you wanna hug someone you should ring up your crush Louis.” Niall tried to sound pissed off, but he had given up on trying to pull away, actually having his eyes closed now. 

“Nah, I don’t wanna hug him, I’m sure he doesn’t smell as good as you and I bet he’s not even half as funny as you are. And I’m not even getting started on who’s cuter because you clearly won that one as well.” Okay, he was overdoing it now, but the thing was, things like that really did make Niall blush and feel all giddy, even if he was trying to suppress it.

Just because he wasn’t actually mad at Liam though and because it felt so nice to be held by him , Niall decided to forgive him. “You’re kinda… really good at apologies, you know?”

“Yeah, I know.” Was all Liam said, laughing as he rubbed the small of Niall’s back and the blonde decided that they could have stayed in here forever and never let go of each other and he would have been perfectly content.

They stayed in the locker rooms for probably two hours or something because it was getting dark at some point, but Niall barely noticed time passing by. They kept hugging for a while longer, snogging some more, but at some point they went to sit down, on the floor actually because there was nowhere else to sit really. Liam was leaning against the lockers and Niall sat opposite him until he decided he wanted to be closer at some point and Liam didn’t even hesitate before pulling Niall to sit sideways between his legs on the floor, playing with the younger’s hoodie, his free hand resting on the blonde’s thigh. 

It felt good, to just sit and talk about anything that came to their minds and maybe it was because Niall knew he could have asked and told Liam anything at all that he already felt like they had been this close for so much longer. Which was a good thing, really, but it also got Niall kind of afraid about having to say goodbye again, having to wait until he could properly be with Liam again and it kinda sucked.

“…. So I dropped out of that class, right? But then I found out, like literally an hour, later that I actually needed it so then I had to go back to the professor and beg my way back into the class and he made me write a 2000 word essay just to make up for that one class I missed. My parents would have _killed_ me if they had ever found out.” When Liam finished his story he was laughing and Niall joined for a second though it did make him kinda nervous just imaging that happening to him. 

“I don’t think anybody knows though, like, that was the first class we had together, right? I think everyone thought you were just sick that one day.” And Niall had been pretty damn upset about that actually.

“Nah, I was just real lazy in my first semester. I had to really step up my game then or my parents would have freaked the hell out, I mean, they don’t ask about grades anymore now, but I’m sure they’d find out somehow if I were doing badly.” Liam’s hand was rubbing over Niall’s thigh as if he had long forgotten about even moving it and Niall let himself fall more into the brunette, he had put both his legs over Liam’s so that they could be closer and he could lean his head against the older’ shoulder. 

“My parents are the same, first they didn’t want me to go to uni at all and now they’re losing their heads over it.” Well, mostly Niall’s dad, but the blonde was really trying to sound somewhat neutral. Speaking about his parents made Niall take his phone out of his pockets though, having kinda forgotten about it and expecting a few messages from Louis, but instead he was surprised to see one from his mother. “That’s weird… “

“What’s weird?” Liam didn’t stop stroking Niall’s leg as he asked, tightening his arm across the younger’s back.

“My mom wants me to go buy something from the store, I thought she’s been home for hours.” The blonde explained, kinda absent as he texted his mother back, immediately sitting up straight when she suddenly called him. “Shit, she’s calling.”

“Pick up, it’s not like she can see us.” That was true, but Niall still couldn’t help his heart beating faster as he threw a worried look at Liam before picking up. 

“Uh, hi, mom.” Niall felt both nervous and also comforted as Liam kept up the stroking while the blonde was talking to his mom, but the situation was definitely strange. “What did you need me to buy? I thought you’re already home.”

“No, somebody didn’t show up and I have to work a late shift, I won’t be home before 3 in the morning and your father works the whole night. I need you to go buy some milk and text your dad and Greg if they need anything as well.” One second… 

“Isn’t Greg at home?” Wait, was nobody home?

“No? He’s staying with some friend, I don’t know who, but he definitely won’t be home before tomorrow evening and we really need milk. So please go buy some, alright?” Niall could barely even concentrate as he agreed, already wanting to hang up. “Wait, where are _you_?”

“I, um, I’m studying at the library.” Well, the library was possibly already closed, but Niall’s mother wouldn’t know that, would she? Plus Liam seemed to be pretty amused by that answer.

“Right, well, you probably gotta leave soon before the store closes.” At least she didn’t sound unhappy with Niall studying, so the blonde immediately agreed before ending the conversation, needing a second to let all of that sink in.

“Everything okay?” Liam had now switched to rubbing Niall’s back, his expression a bit worried when the blonde looked at him, having to blink a few times before he spoke up, his voice shaking a bit because of how excited he was, probably creeping Liam out with his smile.

“Do you still wanna check if you can climb in through my window?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey everyone :D
> 
> another week is over and i hope you all had a good one! thank you so much for so many lovely comments & kudos <3 i really hope you all enjoyed this chapter as well, im super excited about continuing this story and im so happy so many of you seem to be enjoying it just as much!! 
> 
> <333


	6. Chapter 6

“This isn’t gonna work, I think you should just walk around the house and I’ll-“

“No, no, I wanna try this. You wanted me to try this and it’s actually a really good idea, literally no one can see into your garden, especially not if it’s dark.” Liam seemed really eager now to actually try this while Niall was watching from his open bedroom window, already regretting ever having suggested Liam doing this. They were whispering in consideration of the neighbors though they weren’t able to hear them anyways.

“I don’t want you to get hurt though.” It wasn’t that high and yeah, Liam looked really good climbing up on that tree that grew so close to the house that Niall was able to touch it if he stretched a little. Still, if Liam fell, he was going to get hurt and it was already dark outside so he couldn’t even see all that much either.

“I won’t.” The older boy sounded confident as he continued climbing up, looking more like a silhouette in the darkness.

They had both gone home after hanging out in the locker rooms, Liam had had to get rid of his car and his bag and Niall had wanted to make sure the house really was empty, and of course, he also had had to buy some milk. Liam had then somehow gotten to his house by bus and walking, telling Niall that he had felt paranoid as hell when he had walked down his street and up to his front door, keeping his hood pulled almost all the way over his head.

So then Niall had of course wanted him to come inside, but the brunette had _insisted_ that he wanted to try climbing in through Niall’s window first, so that’s what they were doing. Honestly, the blonde felt really guilty about this now that he was watching Liam and though the brunette was strong and very obviously able to do this, it seemed a little over the top.

Especially because he could have just walked in through the door.

“Don’t slip.” Niall couldn’t help those useless comments, he was just suddenly getting really scared the higher Liam got, his happiness about being able to actually have the brunette in his room having disappeared in favor of anxiety.

Liam didn’t answer, probably because he was trying to concentrate and right when he was about to actually try and step over to Niall’s window (the blonde uselessly offering his hand), he seemed to somehow get cut on a branch. “Fuck.”

“What happened?!” The blonde was highly alarmed within seconds, immediately grabbing a hold of Liam’s arm when the older boy climbed over though he wouldn’t have managed to keep him from falling anyways. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m good.” Liam made it into Niall’s room without any further accidents, actually looking very proud of himself once he was standing in front of the blonde, looking even more gorgeous than he had a while ago when they had said goodbye. Still, Niall had other things on his mind now when he looked down.

“Oh my god, you’re bleeding.” He was indeed, his sweatpants were ripped and the skin underneath was just a bloody mess and Niall felt panicked and a bit sick to his stomach.

“Oh shit, yeah, I-“

“Sit down, I’ll go get something.” Before Liam could even properly react, Niall had already made him sit on his bed, feeling the blood leave his face because he wasn’t that good with seeing blood like that. “If you feel dizzy or something then lie down, okay?”

“Niall, I’m fine, it’s just a scratch, yeah?” Now Liam was trying to calm down the blonde even though _he_ was the one with a bleeding leg and Niall wasn’t even sure he had heard the brunette because he was already hurrying out of his room to go look for some disinfect and band aids.

When he returned, Liam had taken off his shoes and pulled up the torn leg of his sweatpants, almost making the blonde’s stomach turn. In all honesty, it didn’t even look THAT bad, it was just because the blood was smeared across Liam’s skin but it was still enough to make Niall the one feeling slightly dizzy.

“You okay, babe? You look a bit pale.” Liam noted after Niall had closed his bedroom door and sat down next to the brunette, trying to keep calm. “I can do this myself if you feel sick or something.”

“No, I’m fine, I’ll do it.” Actually, Niall had considered giving in to Liam, but he wanted to be the one to take care of the brunette so he forced himself to pull through. “Put your leg here.”

The brunette waited for a moment before actually placing his leg across Niall’s lap, undoubtedly watching the younger’s facial expressions so Niall tried hard to keep it together. He made sure to wipe Liam’s skin as carefully as possible, for now avoiding the actual wound that turned out to be not that big at all, making Niall feel a little bit calmer.

“This may hurt a little.” Niall warned Liam, slightly distracted when the brunette rubbed his hand up and down his back, as if Niall had gotten hurt in his place. 

Liam didn’t actually flinch just one bit when Niall cleaned the wound while trying to breathe through his mouth, probably a whole lot more relieved than Liam when he finally covered the wound with band aids. His pants were still ripped of course, but Niall didn’t think that Liam was going to be too sad about that. “Thanks, babe.”

“How’s it feel? Does it hurt?” The brunette took his leg off of Niall’s lap before leaning over to kiss the blonde on his check, getting some color back onto his face.

“It burns a little, but not badly or anything. But I’m sure it would have been a lot worse if you hadn’t taken care of it.” Okay, Liam was clearly joking, but he wrapped both his arms around the blonde’s shoulders, hugging him from the side as Niall rolled his eyes a little, at the same time not being able to help a smile though. 

“I’ll go throw this away.” Or else Niall was going to throw up if he kept those bloody tissues in his room, but Liam kept him on the bed for a little while longer, just holding onto him and kissing him on the lips when Niall turned his head.

Now that this was done, Niall allowed himself to feel happy about Liam being here again and having managed that climb without dying or something. The blonde was still going to be nervous about Liam ever doing this again though, but then again, it was impossible to know if he’d still be against Liam climbing in through his window if they ever didn’t manage to hang out for a few days in a row. Hopefully though, this was never going to happen.

“I really like your room.” Was the first thing Liam said as soon as Niall came back, this time actually locking his door because it did ease his worries a bit and the brunette didn’t comment on it. 

“It’s a bit messy, sorry for that… “ Also, Niall’s room was tiny compared to Liam’s, but then again, Liam’s whole house probably wasn’t the best comparison for anything normal sized.

Liam was now standing in the middle of the room, having covered his leg again, and seemingly very interested in whatever Niall had put up on his walls and his desk and maybe the blonde would have been embarrassed had he not been so fascinated by actually seeing Liam in his room. So he just stood there, watching the other boy, resisting the urge to go over until Liam noticed. “What? Do I have blood somewhere else or so?”

“No… “ Niall cleared his throat a bit before slowly walking over to the older boy, shrugging as he allowed a small smile to form on his lips. “It’s just really surreal to see you standing in my room and stuff. Actually, I… I imagined it once, like, a year or so ago, but now you’re like actually here.”

“Yeah? You fantasized about me being in your room?” Liam was smirking as he met the blonde halfway, Niall’s cheeks already burning as he regretted what he had said, but Liam’s hands settling on his hips was maybe worth it.

“I didn’t _fantasize_ about it, I was just, like, imaging what would happen if we’d be friends and stuff.” Well, maybe not _friends_ …

“So what did we do then? In your not fantasy?” Fuck, Liam was always so smooth with these things, leaning in closer until their foreheads were brushing and Niall had already completely forgotten about the wound on his leg.

“We didn’t do anything, actually, I thought it was kinda unrealistic for you to ever be in here.” That was very true, Niall would have never dared to imagine this in his wildest dreams and he also hadn’t thought it’d have this much of an effect on him to actually have Liam here in this room where he had thought about him so many times.

“You know… I think it’s so bloody cute that you were crushing on me for this long.” Liam was chuckling now, right into Niall’s face and the blonde would have gotten annoyed had his brain not felt mushy from being so close the brunette, breathing him in, their noses brushing sometimes. “But it also gets me really mad at myself for not talking to you when I wanted to for so long.”

“Well, you’re here now, so… “ And maybe two years or even one ago they wouldn’t have been so good at hiding it or maybe something else would have been different and then who knows, everything might have been different. Plus, Niall still couldn’t believe that Liam had been planning on talking to him for so long. “If I wouldn’t have gone to that party, would you have ever talked to me at all?”

“Hmm… I don’t know. Probably not.” The brunette joked, laughing when Niall tried to pull away, pulling him in even closer than before. “Nah, I’m kidding, I surely would have at some point. But I never would have thought I would like you this much.”

“I still can’t believe you do. This is like… some really cheesy book.” It was true, like, who had a crush on someone for two years and then actually got to be with them? 

“Kind of. It’s like Romeo and Juliet, with our families being weird.” Right, Niall did not really enjoy Liam saying that, but he had to admit there was definitely some resemblance. 

“True, and you almost just died climbing up that tree as well.” The blonde joked, Liam kinda cutting him off with a quick kiss. 

“I wouldn’t have died, it’s not that high and you can bet I’m definitely going to do that again in the future.” The thought of Liam being in here with Niall’s family being home got the blonde feeling slightly nervous, but he knew that he would have never said no to Liam wanting to be with him and even kinda risking his life for him. Well, a little bit maybe. “Next time you can try climbing up to _my_ window.”

“Right, I’ll just climb up the façade of your house, that’s totally gonna work and I’m so athletic as well, no problem.” Liam was just laughing now, just going over to hugging Niall and the blonde kinda really liked to think that that was their thing now, like, just hugging for hours straight because they liked to be close to each other.

“I told you, you should have really tried to join the football team with your athletic skills.” Oh god, now this was starting again.

“Honestly though, did you really want me to join the team or why did you suggest that?” It had definitely been kind of weird and Niall had been more than confused back when Liam had been saying it.

“No, I don’t know, I didn’t know what to say and I was a bit nervous about you being in my car. Like, I was kinda being a bit impulsive when I asked to drive you home and stuff and I don’t know what I was thinking because you joining the team… your parents would have probably kill you, wouldn’t they?” They definitely would have, Niall agreed but he definitely hadn’t expected Liam to carry on. “Now that I’m already confessing… I kinda followed you to the library as well.”

“Uh, what? How? I’ve already been there for a while before you showed up.” Okay, Niall was more than confused now, but also a little bit excited. 

“Well, I saw you going inside, I was actually planning on just casually sitting there once you decided to leave, but then I got kinda impatient.” Wow, okay, this was actually really fucking sweet and something Niall would have more seen himself doing than Liam, because what the hell? He had wanted to talk to Niall so badly?

“Are you… are you for real?” Niall couldn’t believe this, he actually had to pull back just so he could look Liam in the eyes and get confirmation, his heart suddenly beating pretty damn fast.

“Why would I lie about that? You think I really go to the library to do research on a Monday at 5 pm? I mean, I did have stuff to do, but I’d never gone there if you hadn’t been there.” Liam’s face was all serious, as if it was obvious or something and Niall just stared at the brunette for a moment, not knowing what to say. “’s why I called it _pretend_ study sessions, I mean, did you show up the next week to study, or… ?”

“No, I didn’t, I… but I wouldn’t have thought that… that _you_ … “ That he out of all people would actually follow Niall to sit with him in the library. Damn, was Niall actually the luckiest person on earth after thinking for so many years he always had tough luck?

“That I’m an actual human being with feelings?” Was he implying that… that he had feelings for Niall?! 

“No, I didn’t mean that, I just… I’m just surprised.” Niall finally brought out, nodding to himself before clearing his throat and then, because they were already so close anyways and he kinda felt an urge to, he quickly leaned in to kiss Liam on the mouth. “Should we like, sit down?”

“Sure.” Liam chuckled, clearly amused by Niall’s embarrassment, but he followed the blonde to his bed, half lying down on one half as if he had already been here a million times. Seeing Liam lying in his own bed like that, one arm propped up behind his head, looking all comfortable, Niall could again barely believe his own eyes. 

They talked for maybe five minutes before Liam stretched his arm out towards the blonde and Niall didn’t hesitate as he went to lie next to the brunette, head in the crook of his shoulder while Liam was playing with his hair and it was probably the most comfortable Niall had ever been in his own bed.

What he really hadn’t thought about anymore ever since he had watched Liam training with his team was Louis having asked to call Niall later tonight. Apparently, later was actually right now and Niall was staring at his screen feeling slightly torn. “It’s Louis.”

“I can see that. What are you waiting for?” Liam sounded confused, but the thing was, Niall didn’t really wanna explain his own thought process right now.

“Um, he probably wants to talk for a really long time, he has to babysit his siblings and stuff and I told him we could talk on the phone when he gets bored, but that was before… “ Before Niall had known he could have hung out with Liam tonight and cuddle with him in bed. Also, how weird would it have been to talk to his best friend while lying in Liam’s arm and half on top of him?

“So you have to pick up. It’s fine, Niall, I don’t want you to not be able to talk to your best friend just because I’m here, I don’t mind it.” Well, by now Louis had stopped calling and Niall had already started to feel guilty, so the older’s words were kinda calming.

“Okay, I’m gonna make it short.” Niall promised as he called Louis back, feeling his heart speeding up when he felt Liam kissing the top of his head, still playing with his hair. 

Louis actually let the blonde wait before picking up, maybe because he was pissed off that the blonde had ignored him just now, but he didn’t actually sound as if he was angry at all. “Hey, are you busy or something?”

“No, uh, I was just too slow to pick up the phone.” That wasn’t a lie now, was it? Niall actually made sure to turn the volume down a bit because he wasn’t sure if Louis was going to say anything weird that wouldn’t have been that great for Liam to hear. “How are the kids doing?”

“Fine, they’ve been a bit annoying, but-“ There was some very audible complaining in the background that made Niall laugh a bit. “What? I can’t tell other people you’ve been annoying and throwing pencils at me? Sorry for that… anyways, uh, half of them are already asleep, so everything is good. What’re you doing?”

“Nothing, I’m just… lying on my bed.” Or on Liam actually, whose chest was vibrating a bit as he chuckled and the blonde suddenly got a bit paranoid that Louis might have heard him. “Why didn’t Harry join you to babysit?”

“He’s coming over in a bit, actually, but he really had to work on a presentation for uni and I don’t think he would have done so well with somebody smashing a Barbie against his head.” Oh, good memories, how often had Niall been hit with toys at Louis’ house? Probably a thousand. “I was actually going to ask you to come over but then I thought I’d save you from having to find an excuse.”

“Thanks for that.” Niall rolled his eyes to himself even though he WAS really thankful for that because what Louis had said was true after all. “When’s Harry coming?”

“Why, do you already wanna hang up again?” Yes, and Niall also felt terribly guilty for it. 

“No, I’m just asking, is all… “ Maybe Niall should have texted Harry and apologized or something, explained the situation himself, but he was afraid that this version of the story wasn’t going to match the one he had told Louis because he wasn’t 100% sure anymore what he had told his best friend. 

“Fifteen minutes to half an hour or so, not sure, I would have called you sooner but I had a hard time controlling the kids.” There was again complaining in the background and Niall really wanted to kow how Louis managed to say yes to his parents pretty much whenever they wanted to go out. “Is it alright if I keep your notes for a little bit longer by the way? I haven’t had time to copy them yet.”

“My notes? Oh, right, yeah, you can keep them, I just need them back in time for the exam.” God, Niall was really dreading that exam, especially now that he had been concentrating on uni so little because he was more busy thinking about Liam 24/7. “But don’t spread them or anything, okay?”

“When have I ever spread your notes, Nialler? I don’t even know anybody who’s got the same classes as we do… you don’t have any classes with Harry, do you?” Okay, why was he asking that, Niall was 100% sure that his best friend already knew the answer.

“No, I don’t.” Luckily, because otherwise Niall would have had an even harder time avoiding him, now and also the last few months. 

“I’ve got a class with Liam.” Louis just randomly threw that in, as if they had just been talking about him and Niall literally felt his heart stop for a second. If Louis had known that Liam was literally lying _underneath_ him… 

“Okay?” Niall didn’t know what else to say, he also didn’t know why Louis thought that he would have wanted to hear that. “Why are you telling me that?”

“I don’t know, I just thought about it. I was thinking of asking him to borrow me his notes as well, but-“

“Lou, you can’t go around asking everybody at uni for notes.” The thing was, Liam would have given Louis the notes without thinking about it, Niall knew that of course and he needed to make sure that didn’t happen. His brother seeing Louis and Liam interacting would have left Niall with pretty much no one to hang out with at all. 

“Why not? Liam is Harry’s friend, Harry is my boyfriend and he even introduced us.” Now Niall was getting so stressed out, he actually sat up, causing Liam’s arm to drop, the older’s eyebrows pulled up when Niall sat sideways. 

“Louis, you don’t even know Liam.” Niall said the older’s name just so Liam would know this was about him and the brunette sounded very interested all of a sudden, he was now playing with the younger’s free hand and Niall had a hard time not to smile at him. “You can’t ask him for his notes.”

That had Liam laughing, sadly out loud and he immediately stopped himself when he realized what he had done but it was too late. “Who was that?”

“Uh, my brother.” Niall lied, a bit too quickly and maybe because he was way too used to it already. 

“He’s in your room laughing?” Right, that sounded slightly weird now that Louis was saying it out loud, but what else would Niall have said?! 

“Yeah, he just came in and threw something at me.” The blonde got himself in even deeper, which had Liam smirking of course, but he was really trying to keep quiet now. He probably wouldn’t have cared if Niall had told Louis the truth right now, actually, he might have encouraged it but Niall wasn’t going to do that without thinking about it in depth. “Anyways, where were we?”

“Ummm, me asking Liam for notes? But since when does your brother-“

“Jesus, is this an investigation or something?” Niall forced himself to laugh, hoping this was making things more realistic, but it really just made everything even weirder. 

“No, it’s not, I was just asking, nothing else, why’re you so upset?” Good question. “You really have some mood swings lately.”

“Mood swings?!” The blonde couldn’t help himself, from the corner of his eyes seeing Liam holding back his laughter and he would have shoved him gently had the brunette not been holding his free hand in both of his. 

“Yeah? Even now you’re being all aggressive and-“

“I’m not aggressive.” Niall interrupted, trying to sound as calm as possible while doing it but it obviously wasn’t working that well.

“Okay, fine, I’m just… confused is all. This, uh, this has nothing to do with your dad, does it? You know you can talk me, right?” Now Louis was once again proving that Niall was an asshole for lying straight to his face all the time, right now he kinda really wanted to just say it, just straight out and be done with it. But he couldn’t.

“No, it doesn’t, I don’t know… I’m fine. Sorry for snapping at you.” _And for lying_ Niall added in his head but it barely eased his guilt. The longer he waited, the more lies he was going to have to apologize for at some point. 

“It’s alright… hey, um, Harry just texted me, he’s almost there.” No idea if Louis was making this up or not, but Niall was still relieved anyways. This felt like they were having a fight because of Liam for the 100th time and Louis didn’t even know that the brunette was the reason for any of this. But then again, it wasn’t Liam, it was actually Niall.

“Okay, um… we can text?” Niall suggested, just to do some damage control and Louis agreed immediately, moving in the background so maybe he hadn’t been lying about Harry almost being there. “Right, see you tomorrow, have fun with Harry.”

“Yeah, I definitely will. See you then, Ni.” He was laughing before he hung up the phone and Niall didn’t know what to say or do, he actually didn’t even want to look at Liam right now or answer any questions, because… god, he really did have mood swings.

Liam didn’t say anything and the blonde could feel the older’s stare but he kept looking at their still intertwined hands instead, trying not to let out a sigh and bury his face in Liam’s shoulder. Niall really wished he wouldn’t have picked up the phone in front of Liam, not even because he hadn’t wanted the brunette to see him lying shamelessly, but also because he didn’t want Liam to think that this was his fault or anything. Well, he probably wasn’t thinking that, but it was still a concern of Niall.

“Sorry for that.” Niall finally spoke after a few moments of silence, only looking up though when Liam suddenly moved their hands up to his face so he could kiss the back off Niall’s, looking the blonde in the eyes once Niall had turned his head.

“You don’t have to apologize, I’m sorry for laughing. You have to tell him at some point though, Ni.” Was all Liam said and he was right and Niall really hated this because now that he had gotten to this point, he wasn’t sure Louis would really forgive him. 

“What am I gonna say?” The blonde genuinely did not know, he wasn’t even _dating_ Liam, they had just both admitted they wanted to be more than friends but they hadn’t put a label on it and it was complicated but only if Niall tried putting it into words. Lying here with Liam and snogging him wasn’t complicated at all.

“That our fathers are jerks and that you like snogging me and staring at me when I’m sweaty and disgusting?” Liam was laughing at his own joke and Niall just let out a groan before doing what he had been wanting to do for a while now, just lying down on his stomach and burying his face against the older’s neck. “It’s true though, isn’t it?”

“That doesn’t mean I have to say it like that.” Niall’s voice was numbed by Liam’s skin, he was breathing the older boy in quietly, finding comfort in the way Liam wrapped both his arms around him, his palm rubbing Niall’s back. 

“What would be so bad about Louis knowing? Like what’s the worst thing that could happen?” As soon as Liam was getting reasonable like this, Niall had a very hard time finding arguments, so that was why he simply wanted to ignore the whole topic.

“He could accidentally say something to someone, he could get mad at me for lying so much and he’d surely suggest that we all hang out together with Harry. Maybe he wouldn’t take it serious, maybe he wouldn’t get that we’d both be in genuine trouble if any of this came out.” That wasn’t everything, but it was everything Niall wanted to actually tell Liam.

“He’s not stupid, Niall, if you explain it to him, he’s going to understand. And you know that telling Louis and Harry gives us two more houses to hang out at.” Okay, was Liam losing his mind now?

“You wanna tell them so we can hang out at their houses?” Was he being for real? Niall would have lifted his head had Liam not smelled so damn good and had his arms not felt so safe and warm around him. 

“No, but it wouldn’t hurt, would it? Not saying they’d invite us over that often, but you always keep saying that Louis is the type of person who’d wanna go on double dates and stuff and since we can’t really do that in public… I’d take any chance we get to spend more time together.” When Liam added the last part, Niall’s heart skipped a beat but he stayed quiet, only concentrating on the older boy drawing patterns on his back before speaking up again, more quietly. “So what are you _really_ afraid of?”

Niall didn’t wanna say it, not to Liam and not to anyone, but he figured that the brunette was way too good at reading him and he felt like he could tell the brunette pretty much anything. So Niall hesitated only for a moment, not knowing just yet how to put it into words, also because he didn’t wanna hurt Liam. “Well… if I tell Louis, right? Then he’s gonna ask me a ton of question about… well, us, and like… we’ve never kissed before last night and I would have never thought we ever would and… I mean, we don’t know what’s gonna happen in like a month or something and… I really like you and I definitely want us to do all of this and I wanna go on dates and everything, but… I don’t know if I wanna tell Louis that after one day.”

It’s not that Niall was _scared_ about the things he had just said, he was just unsure and he didn’t wanna go up to Louis telling him all this and then it’d possibly be over a week later. It’d be a lot harder to deal with it if Louis had already known about it as well, Niall would have been happy to tell his best friend that he and Liam were dating after a while, but… it had literally been one day.

“Okay, I understand that, I… I didn’t wanna push you or anything, I just… I really want this to work so maybe I was kinda, I don’t know, excited to tell somebody? But I know what you mean and Louis is your best friend and not mine and I’m sure you’re closer to him than I am to Harry, so… I just assumed you wanted to tell him, I suppose. But it’s fine if you don’t, I just don’t want you having to lie to him and make things more complicated for you than they are already.” The blonde couldn’t tell if his words had hurt Liam or not, but just the thought that they might have was driving him insane, especially because he had said the thing about being excited to tell somebody.

“It’s not that I don’t _want_ to tell him, hell, I would have run off telling everybody I know that we kissed if things were different... if we didn’t have to hide it. I’m just… overly careful, I suppose. And also… “ Niall hesitated before adding the last part, but then he just thought, why the hell not? “I kinda wanna enjoy this for a bit first, like… without worrying that anybody might say something on accident or ask me a hundred questions and I don’t like lying to Louis, but… you know, ever since he met Harry, like… Louis and I were a lot closer before that and I don’t blame him at all because Harry is his boyfriend obviously, but when they started dating Louis did tell me immediately with every detail possible, but… you know, I’m not like that and he wasn’t all that concerned about me spending a lot of time alone either, so… I’d like to have something for myself only, it’s not like I’m hurt or that I wanna take revenge or any of that sort, I just don’t feel overly guilty for that reason. I do feel guilty about lying though… “

Following the silence, Niall was suddenly nervous that Liam had taken it the wrong way, that maybe he would think that Niall actually enjoyed all the secrecy or that he maybe kept this from Louis as some sort of revenge, but none of that was true. Niall simply didn’t wanna make things more complicated for them and he wanted Liam to himself only, at least for a little bit. 

“I hope this didn’t come out the wrong way, I don’t enjoy any of the sneaking around, but I don’t feel _obliged_ to tell Louis and I don’t wanna worry even more about anybody finding out. I know he’s gonna find out at some point though and if you really want me to, I’m gonna tell him, but-“

“No, Niall, you don’t have to tell him anything if you don’t want to, okay? I know what you’re saying and I’m sorry for pushing you, I never looked at it from that point of view because… it’s very different between me and Harry. You can decide, whatever we do or don’t, it’s your decision, alright? I won’t say a word to anyone, I promise. It’s all going to be just fine.” Liam again pressed his lips on top of the younger’s head and Niall felt his body relax more against the older boy’s, relieved that he hadn’t taken it the wrong way. “I was afraid you didn’t wanna tell him because you didn’t think this was going to work anyways.”

“Liam, seriously, I… you think I spent two _years_ crushing on you and stalking all your social media every night just to be done after one day?” The heat of the moment made Niall’s tongue a bit lose, but at least it seemed to brighten the mood as Liam laughed softly.

“Every single night, huh?” He seemed to really like that and maybe Niall didn’t regret saying it so much anymore. 

“Yeah, whatever, it’s not my fault you’re practically addicted to spreading pictures of your life.” It was a bit true though, Liam had definitely shared a lot of pictures for everyone to see.

“Aren’t you glad I am?” Fair point.

“I was.” Niall corrected the brunette, kinda mumbling it into his neck though, like it had just slipped out because the blonde had immediately been thinking about that post training selfie Liam had posted today, looking so damn good that that half an hour waiting for him to text had practically flown by.

“Ah, now you don’t wanna share anymore, is that what it is?” Liam of course thought that this was _hilarious_ , but he also sounded very pleased. “Are you the kinda guy who’s gonna tell his boyfriend what to do and who to talk to?”

“I… you’re not my boyfriend.” Niall half choked out, it did sound a little bit like a question, but using that word after one day felt a bit weird.

“Yet.” Was all Liam said and then all of a sudden he started to move, rolling them around so that Niall was the one underneath him on his back, staring up at the brunette’s face only centimeters away from his, his weight pressing Niall into the mattress. “I could be. Potentially.”

“Potentially?” Niall asked, feeling breathless as he lifted his arms to wrap around Liam’s neck when the older boy kissed him. This was different, kissing while Liam was literally on top of him, stroking his cheek after throwing around the B-word. 

“Yeah, if you fulfill all the prerequisites within one month and agree to the terms and conditions I’ll come back to you within 3 work days.” This idiot was just so cute and Niall wanted to cry.

“I hate when you talk like that, I really do.” He really, really did not.

“Nah, you don’t or you would have long made sure to run.” Liam was grinning and Niall rolled his eyes but he couldn’t help a fond smile, pulling Liam’s head back down to his because they definitely hadn’t kissed enough in the last two minutes. 

“What prerequisites are you talking about exactly?” Niall couldn’t help but ask, his lips still brushing Liam’s and he felt the older’s breath against his skin when he laughed, fingers, tugging at a strand of the blonde’s hair. 

“I can’t tell you, that’s the catch.” He explained, as if this was all serious and stuff and Niall would have rolled his eyes had he not had them closed anyways. Liam’s shoulders were broad and perfect to hold on to and honestly, Niall had dreamed about that maybe more than just once. 

“But _you’re_ the one who’s deciding in the end? That doesn’t seem fair… “ Not at all, because what if Niall didn’t wanna wait a whole fucking month? Then again, did it matter what they called whatever was going on between them? Maybe not, but the thought that Liam had brought it up got Niall feeling even hotter than he already been to begin with. 

“Doesn’t mean you have to agree to what I want.” That was true but not what Niall had meant, he just wouldn’t have known what else to say because he couldn’t just lie here begging Liam to be his boyfriend. They had never even hugged before today. “But I’ll tell you one thing, no one’s ever been as qualified as you are.”

“Am I supposed to believe that?” No matter if he did, it got Niall all flattered and blushed and he wanted to giggle like a fucking idiot, but that would have been stupid. 

“Yeah, because why would I have said it if it was a lie?” Liam didn’t give Niall a chance to answer to that, he just pressed their lips back together, licking into the younger’s mouth at the very first opportunity he got and the blonde of course gave in, their conversation already drifting into the background. So Niall decided that maybe it was actually true, that there was no reason for Liam to lie to him and it felt pretty damn good.

They stayed at Niall’s house until two in the morning and the blonde was afraid he was going to fall asleep and wake up in the morning with Liam not being able to leave. Niall made food for them at some point, feeling a bit too paranoid though than to eat it in the kitchen where anybody could have walked in at any moment.

But no one ever did.

When Liam left, he snogged Niall against the front door for ten minutes before walking outside with his hood pulled up and though the blonde forced himself to close the door immediately after the brunette had left, he still stared at his back for a moment. His lips still tingling when he lied in bed a few minutes later, his sheets smelling like Liam and he did get what the brunette had been talking about not washing his.

Though Niall was tired, he stayed awake until Liam texted him telling him that he was home and they talked for a little bit before the blonde finally fell asleep, face pressed into the pillow that Liam had been lying on before.

 

\----------

 

Time passed by more quickly than Niall would have ever thought was possible. Especially the first two weeks seemed to fly by and Niall didn’t think he had been happier with anybody else before. After a month of them “dating”, they had least spent 6 days driving somewhere just so they could spend time together and go on actual dates instead of being forced to either stay in the locker room or either of their houses.

One time Liam almost got caught in Niall’s room and though they had laughed about the brunette having to hide in Niall’s closet until his dad had left again, they started to be more careful from that point on. It was so good though, despite all the secrecy and Niall still lying to Louis out of routine now, every day he seemed to be more excited than the day before to see Liam, be able to kiss him again and just spend time with him.

Niall was proper in love with the brunette, more than he had ever thought was possible and he would have done anything at all to be with the other boy. They hadn’t really discussed putting a real label on it, but the blonde would have agreed to whatever Liam wanted and in his own eyes, Liam kinda was his boyfriend already because that’s how they behaved. 

There was still one thing though that Niall really needed to do before he’d be able to feel at peace and that was opening his mouth and confessing to his best friend that he had been lying to him for a whole month. 

“You guys wanna watch another one?” When Louis asked, he hadn’t even attempted to stop the next episode from starting to play so Niall spared himself the answer, feeling as if he might doze off any second. 

“We’re gonna be finished with the whole season today if we don’t stop.” Harry was right, but he also didn’t move so they all just half lied there on Louis’ couch in the living room, watching the intro of the show that they had only started today. “Niall, can you give me the popcorn?”

“It’s too far away.” The blonde let out a sigh, still leaning forward after a second though to grab the bowl, getting himself a handful before handing it over to Harry, almost spilling the popcorn over the couch because he was sitting with quite a distance to the other two cuddling on his left. 

It was Friday and Niall could have been sitting in the stands at the football field right now and stared at Liam training, but it was raining pretty heavily and the brunette had told Niall he’d come over to his house later and that he shouldn’t say no to Louis again because he had done it so many times already. Also, Niall would have had to wait for two hours by himself otherwise because one of his classes had been cancelled.

Things between Niall and Louis were good though, Niall’s brother had apparently lost interest and the blonde was actually able to hang out with Harry again, plus being at Louis’ house, nobody could have seen them anyways so he wasn’t worried. He was, however, worried about having to leave soon with another made up excuse. 

“I need the bathroom for a second, is it okay if we stop?” Of course Louis had to go pee two minutes into the episode, but Harry agreed immediately and Niall just stayed quiet, trying not to let his eyes fall closed again as he rearranged himself against some of the pillows. 

Being at Louis’ house was nice, Niall had almost forgotten about that. His mother had made them food and she kept on offering them snacks every half an hour or so, something the blonde was pretty sure he’d never quite understand because his own mother would have rather shot herself in the leg than done any of that sort.

“Did you already finish that essay you were talking about before?” Harry asked as soon as Louis was gone, which was a good thing because it kept Niall awake. He needed to be awake because he’d have to leave after this episode or the next one or he’d waste time he could have spent with Liam instead. 

“Um, kinda. I gotta edit it and stuff… has Louis even started?” It was due until two days from now and judging by the look Harry threw at Niall, there was no answer necessary. “Well, this time I can’t give him mine because I don’t wanna fail.”

“I don’t think he’s gonna ask you anyways, he completely forgot and I keep reminding him, but… “ The other boy shrugged and Niall would have laughed had this not been kind of sad. 

“Well, you’re not his babysitter.” Maybe that was harsh but it was kinda true, but before Harry could have said anything, they were suddenly interrupted by somebody that clearly wasn’t Louis. 

Niall had forgotten how old Louis’ sisters were because it was quite hard to keep track, but the one opening the door was clearly too young to watch the show they had on. “Louis?”

“He’s in the bathroom, love.” Harry told her while Niall had barely made any effort to turn around to look over at the door because she was suddenly coming over anyways. “He’ll be back in a second.” 

“Okay. My mom said you’re watching something really gross.” And very obviously that made her wanna see what it was but since the show was paused anyways, neither Harry nor Niall stopped Louis’ sister from climbing on the couch between them. They both knew all of Louis’ siblings really well and Niall especially since they had been friends for so long, he had even read them to bed on multiple occasions when he had helped Louis babysit. 

“It is kind of gross, your brother picked it.” Niall explained before Harry could have said anything but he didn’t try to protest, just rolled his eyes. “He’s forcing us to watch with him though because he’d be way too scared to do it on his own. But don’t tell him I said that, okay?”

“Hmmm, but I want some popcorn for not telling him.” The blonde handed it to her wordlessly and she seemed very happy just sitting there and stuffing her mouth.

Harry looked like he wanted to say something, but then he just shook his head at Niall and the blonde grinned at him, shrugging before briefly checking his phone, just to make sure Liam hadn’t already texted him. 

“What’s on your neck?” At first, Niall had had no idea that Louis’ sister had been talking to him at all and even when he already noticed both her and Harry staring at his neck, he still had no clue what she had been talking about. Until it suddenly hit him.

“Nothing.” Niall was aware that he was being weird, his hand immediately flying up to cover the spot Louis’ sister must have been referring to, the love bite Liam had put there last night that had forced Niall to wear a hoodie today that had apparently slipped down. 

“But I saw it.” Louis’ sister kept insisting and though Harry didn’t say a word, Niall was very well aware that he must have seen it as well. Fuck. 

“It was probably just because I scratched myself.” Niall lied, his voice a bit shaky though and he tried to pull his hoodie up in the least subtle way ever.

“It looks like a love bite.” The girl was giggling now and since when was she old enough to know about that?! 

“It’s not.” Okay, now Niall was arguing with a maybe ten year old, he really needed to stop that. “I think I’m gonna need that popcorn back.”

“I already had enough anyways.” She handed the bowl back with a triumphant smile and Niall refrained from rolling his eyes too much because this was a child and he actually wouldn’t have cared if it hadn’t been for Harry sitting there as well, hearing every word they spoke. “I bet Harry saw it too.”

“I didn’t see anything.” Harry shrugged, but when his eyes met Niall’s, the blonde knew that he was lying and simply trying to help him out. Niall would have been thankful for that had he actually cared about a ten year old making fun of a love bite on his neck, no, he only cared about Harry telling Louis and them somehow coming to the conclusion that he was dating Liam. 

It went on like that for a bit until Louis’ mother walked past the living room and ordered her daughter to leave them alone for which Niall was pretty damn grateful. If Louis had come back before his sister had left, the blonde didn’t wanna know what she would have told him. Plus, Louis would have been a lot more interested in what she had to say than Harry seemed to be. 

Somehow Niall was really afraid of Harry saying anything to him once they were alone, but the boy simply started talking about the show they had been watching for hours now and though Niall was still blushed as hell and feeling rather uncomfortable, he tried to not let it show. When Louis finally came back, Niall hadn’t had the chance to grow some balls and ask Harry not to say anything to him, but then again, it was his boyfriend, Niall probably couldn’t ask that of him anyways.

He stayed for two more episodes because Liam texted him telling him they had been training for a bit longer and obviously the brunette needed to leave his car at home before walking over to Niall’s house. Luckily it was already dark by the time Niall walked home because he was pretty sure either his parents or his brother were home and he hated Liam having to climb into his room through the window, but what options did they have?

Niall’s mother was home when he arrived, they had some small talk and the blonde was relieved to know she was watching TV in the living room, far away from the back of the house and also loud enough to drown out any sounds from outside. Maybe they were getting reckless, but it was easier for Liam to sneak into Niall’s bedroom than the other way around obviously and they couldn’t spend their nights in locker rooms and other cities.

The blonde made sure to open his window when Liam texted him that he was almost there, of course feeling anxiety building up in his stomach as he locked his bedroom door. No matter how many times Liam did this, it always got Niall feeling paranoid as hell, especially now that his mother was literally downstairs, but his urge to be with Liam would have led Niall to do all sorts of things that he maybe shouldn’t have.

Liam had gotten really good at climbing that tree, he had never gotten injured again after the first time but Niall was still worried as hell when he watched the brunette doing it tonight, quickly getting over it though once Liam was standing in front of him with a proud smile on his lips.

“I’m getting real good at this.” He made sure to close the window and take his shoes off before taking Niall off guard by enveloping him into a bone crushing hug that almost made the blonde lose ground for a second, making him laugh as he held onto the older boy. It was still raining outside so his hoodie was damp but Niall didn’t mind because all worries seemed to have simply disappeared. “Hi, babe.”

“Hi, how was training?” When they pulled apart, Liam barely looked at Niall before kissing him on the mouth, still having his arms wrapped around him. Fuck, Niall had had to wait a whole day for this and though they actually saw each other a lot, each time still seemed better than the last.

“It was fine, like, everyone did well, but the rain was really distracting. I slipped a few times because the grass was really wet.” Liam shrugged, as if it wasn’t a big deal, pecking Niall’s mouth again before going to sit on the younger’s bed, pulling him with him by his hand though.

“You slipped? Are you hurt?” Of course Niall was getting worried again, staring at Liam now to see any signs of pain, especially when the older boy didn’t answer immediately once they had sat down. 

“No, not really.” Okay, that didn’t at all sound calming.

“What do you mean _not really_?” Niall was almost ready to just go and tell Liam to lie down and take his clothes off so he could see for himself, but maybe that would have gone slightly too far.

“I doubt it’s from me slipping, but my back kinda hurts. Maybe I pulled a muscle or something, it’s not that bad though, you don’t have to look at me like that, Nialler.” Liam laughed, ruffling Niall’s hair before touching his thumb to the blonde’s mouth because he was pouting now without even having noticed.

“If it hurts it can’t be good.” He hated seeing Liam hurt, two weeks ago Liam had gotten hurt during the training as well and it had _killed_ the blonde inside simply having to watch, not being able to know how he was doing until after. 

“I’m fine, Ni, I promise, I’ve had way worse.” God, Niall didn’t even wanna know about those times. “Plus, now I’m with you so I’m already feeling better.”

“Liar.” Although, Niall also always felt better whenever he saw Liam, as if a weight had been lifted off of his chest or something, he still rolled his eyes at the brunette, desperate to make him feel better. “I can massage you, maybe that’ll make it better.”

“Really?” Liam’s expression had immediately changed to somehow excited and the blonde nodded, just hoping that he wouldn’t actually make it worse.

“Yeah, if you take off your hoodie.” Niall should have known that that would cause Liam to pull up an eyebrow and he wanted to be annoyed but he really couldn’t.

“So you just wanna get me undressed, huh? I see how it is.” But while talking, Liam had already gotten up off the bed, taking off his hoodie and the shirt he had had underneath and Niall had seen him in nothing but boxer shorts as well but it was still exciting each time. They had never done anything sexually with each other, well, except for a week ago when they had been snogging on Liam’s bed and then somehow both ended up rubbing against one another until they had both come in their pants. Ever since then, Niall was actually desperate to do more with Liam, but it was kinda hard to find the perfect time when they were never _really_ alone. “How’d you want me?”

“On your stomach. And spare yourself what you were just about to say, it’s not funny.” The blonde warned Liam, having to smile a little bit though when the older boy just laughed at him, leaning down to kiss him before lying in the middle of Niall’s bed, dropping his phone somewhere next to his head. “Where does it hurt?”

“Like right underneath my shoulder blade somewhere. Somewhere around here.” Liam tried to show Niall, twisting his arm around and the blonde made sure to remember the spot, not asking before pretty much sitting on Liam’s butt. “Imagine if your mom walked in right now, how funny would that be?”

“I locked us in, she can’t walk in here unless she breaks the door or something.” Niall’s dad would have probably done that, if he had suspected Liam being in here and the thought gave the blonde goosebumps. “Is it here?”

“Yeah, fuck, don’t press down so hard.” The brunette was squirming a bit and Niall immediately took off some pressure, trying to be more gentle. Maybe it was stupid but he really liked doing this, touching Liam’s smooth skin, feeling his muscles and knowing that he was making the other boy feel better. 

“Better?” There had been no more complaints so Niall had just kept going for a moment, hoping that the silence meant that he was doing alright.

“Yeah… feels good.” Liam sounded like he meant it and his body seemed relaxed so the blonde allowed himself to feel proud of himself. “Did you have fun at Louis’ house?”

“Um, yeah. He made us watch like 6 episodes of some show, we barely talked actually. Right… and his little sister pointed out the love bite you left on my neck.” Niall had almost completely forgotten about that already, but it felt good to tell Liam about it now, share some of his paranoia with him.

“Oh shit, did Louis and Harry see it as well?” Actually, Liam didn’t sound all too panicked, which made sense because he had told Niall about 100 times that he could tell Louis about them whenever he felt like it and Niall knew he needed to, but he really didn’t want to.

“Harry did, Louis was in the bathroom. He didn’t really ask or say anything though, but ‘m sure he told Louis by now… I mean… I gotta tell Louis anyways, maybe… maybe that was fate or something.” Now Niall was trying to calm himself down but it wasn’t really working that well.

“You don’t have to tell him if you don’t want to, maybe he won’t ask. I do think Harry’s gonna tell him not to say anything to you… oh.” That sound Liam made could have been interpreted either way but he didn’t move away so Niall kept going. 

“Did I hurt you?” He still decided to check of course, afraid he had been pressing down too hard again.

“No, keep doing that please, I think it’s getting better.” That was probably a lie, but it still motivated Niall to keep going, determined to actually make Liam’s back pains go away. “If Louis asks you, what’re you gonna tell him?”

“I don’t know yet… depends when and how he asks me, I suppose, maybe he just won’t ever say anything and I’m freaking out for nothing. Like, I wanna tell him, but I don’t know how.” Plus whenever Niall was about to do it, he thought about a hundred reasons not to do it. 

“You could just write him a text message even if you think that’s stupid, but if you really can’t get yourself to do it any other way… or I could tell him.” Liam had already suggested that multiple times as well, but that would have only made things worse.

“No, if I tell him then… I’m gonna tell him person. But thanks, Li… I just need to get over myself.” Niall didn’t really wanna continue this conversation, they already had had it a million times and the blonde never acted upon it anyways, so… 

“Let me know if you change your mind, love, I wouldn’t mind.” Ever since Niall had started massaging Liam’s back, the older’s voice had gotten a lot quieter and more relaxed, almost as if he was getting sleepy.

“I know… “ The blonde half mumbled, feeling all warm because he knew Liam would have done anything for him so it was only fair he tried extra hard to make him feel better. “How’s that?”

“Really good… “ It did sound like it as well and also as if Liam was going to pass out any second and in all honesty, Niall wouldn’t have even minded. If anything, it would have been a compliment and he liked to think that Liam felt so comfortable and so much better that he was falling asleep as a result.

Niall kept going for another fifteen minutes, they’d sometimes talk a bit but at some point Niall didn’t receive an answer anymore, which was kind of convenient because his hands had started hurting anyways. He kept rubbing Liam’s back for another moment before very slowly climbing off of him to check his face, see if he really was asleep.

Somehow it made Niall smile, to watch the older boy all passed out in his bed, cheek squished against his own arm and it really was impossible for the blonde to not lead over and kiss Liam’s other cheek, reaching out to lightly trace his features with his finger, careful not to wake him. He looked all peaceful and relaxed and to think that it had maybe only partly been the blonde’s doing made him even happier.

Since it was actually cold outside, Niall made sure to cover Liam with his blanket before half lying down next to him, absently playing with the brunette’s hair while watching something on his phone, with his headphones in so he wouldn’t wake the other boy. It wasn’t that late actually, but it was Friday and just in case Liam wasn’t going to wake up again tonight, Niall maybe wasn’t going to bother waking him.

They had only slept over at each other’s houses maybe twice because it was risky as hell, but waking up with Liam’s arms wrapped around him had definitely made it worth the small heart attack he had almost suffered in the morning when the brunette’s mother had knocked on Liam’s bedroom door.

Niall felt himself getting sleepy as well, turning after a while so he could actually looked at Liam’s gorgeous face and brush his finger over the brunette’s cheek and his eyebrow and his lips just because he could. Somehow though, there was something stabbing the blonde in his hip when he turned again and upon sitting up for a moment, he realized he had been lying on Liam’s phone the entire time.

Honestly, it hadn’t been Niall’s intention, no way, he would have never read Liam’s text messages, but it wasn’t really his fault that his own name immediately caught his eye and before he knew it, he had already read the rest as well, causing his heart to stop for a moment.

 

_Harry Styles 08:58 pm  
Li, seriously, just tell me if youre dating niall, I’ve had suspicions for a month anyways. Are u with him right now?_

 

Seemed like Niall didn’t have too much of a choice anymore whether he was going to tell Louis or not.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello everyone :)
> 
> thank you so much for reading this story, it really means a lot to me! also thank you to everyone who always makes sure to leave me a comment & everyone who gives me kudos, it does make writing a lot more fun!
> 
> i hope you all enjoyed this chapter, if there happen to be some mistakes please forgive me, this week has been really weird for me. if you want you can leave me a comment about anything thats on your mind, whether related to the chapter or not haha, and ill promise ill answer :D
> 
> <3


	7. Chapter 7

After reading that text message, Niall’s heart was beating pretty fast and he was ashamed that he actually kept Liam’s phone in his hands for a few more minutes before putting it next to his on the bedside table. This wasn’t Liam’s fault obviously but Niall wanted to be mad at him for not telling him that Harry had been asking him about the two of them all along.

Then again, that also meant Harry hadn’t said a word to Louis because Louis would have not been able to keep quiet, he would have been asking Niall nonstop, so that was at least something. However, didn’t that make things even worse? Not only had Niall lied to Louis, Louis’ boyfriend had also kept things from him.

Great.

Niall thought about waking Liam, confronting him, but instead he just stared at the older’s peaceful face and the longer the blonde thought about it, the more he realized that Liam must have kept this from him so he wouldn’t stress Niall out. Also, it’s not like Niall had a right to know everything Liam did and said to other people and he very obviously hadn’t told Harry the truth. 

After two hours, Niall still hadn’t figured out how to tell Louis though he had already cleaned up his room, read something for uni AND taken a shower while Liam had just been sleeping. It was kinda getting late though and Niall’s mother had already gone to bed as well, so Niall crawled back into bed, a little bit torn between waking Liam and just letting him sleep.

In the end, the blonde slowly rubbed his hand over the older’s back over the blanket, kissing his cheek a bit as he half whispered. “Li? Do you wanna stay or go home?”

“Hm?” Was all the brunette made, not even opening his eyes or anything and Niall felt super bad but he didn’t just wanna let Liam sleep if the brunette had intended to go home or something, they hadn’t really discussed this and maybe Liam had something to do tomorrow?

“Liam…? Can you wake up for one second?” Niall raised his voice just a little bit, brushing his fingers through Liam’s hair, almost about to give up and just leave the boy to sleep. “Are you staying the night?”

“Hmmm… yeah… “ Liam just mumbled it somewhere into the pillow and Niall wasn’t sure if that really counted but then the other boy move a bit, half blinking his eyes open and stretching his arm out towards the blonde. “C’mere… “

That definitely was enough for Niall to forget about the tiny grudge he had still held because of that stupid text message, his heart going soft as he made sure to turn off the lights before lying down next to the other boy, feeling his arm wrap around him at an instant, pulling him underneath the blanket as well.

Liam was out like a light just a second later, but Niall stayed awake for a little longer, listening to Liam’s breathing and enjoying the cocoon of warmth they had created for themselves. Maybe everything wouldn’t turn out so bad after all. 

 

\-----------------

 

When Niall woke up again, he felt really hot and sweaty and it took him a moment to notice where he was and what was going on, that Liam was now pressed up against his back, a tight arm around his waist and his hips… well, his hips pushing steadily against the younger’s arse. This had obviously never happened to Niall before, he had never been with a guy and he had never felt anybody else’s erection pressing up against his bum, so for a moment, he just froze.

“Uh, Liam?” Niall tried, but there was no answer, which made sense because it seemed a lot like Liam was still asleep, probably dreaming while… yes, rutting his erection against Niall’s ass, his breathing going heavy and the blonde tried not to get too horny but it seemed impossible.

For a moment, Niall thought about what was going to happen if he just let Liam carry on, if the brunette was going to cum just from rubbing against his ass, but he quickly figured out that that wasn’t what he wanted, at all. Liam’s grip around Niall was really tight, keeping the blonde in the perfect position for Liam to grind against him, so the blonde didn’t even try to move. Also a bit because he was actually enjoying this, being so close to Liam, both of them hot and kinda sweaty and…

“Liam, wake up.” The blonde was talking a bit louder than before, not exactly knowing how late it was, but it’s not like his family could have heard him through the walls. “Liam.”

The brunette’s hips stuttered a bit, but he wasn’t waking up when Niall kept saying his name, so the blonde pinched his arm, as softly as possible though, but that still seemed to do the trick. “Shit… what?”

Niall didn’t answer, he just waited until Liam was fully awake, his hips having stopped rutting against the blonde’s bum but he was still pressed against him, his arm not having loosened the slightest bit. Good.

“Did you just… _pinch_ me awake?” Liam seemed so confused by that, his voice still heavy with sleep and Niall would have burst out laughing had he not had a hard on and could still feel the outline of Liam’s.

“Yeah, sorry… you were kinda, um… you know.” Not knowing how to say it, Niall pushed his ass back against Liam’s erection and the brunette sucked in a breath.

“Oh. Shit, sorry, I was asleep, I didn’t-“

“No, it’s… it’s fine.” The blonde immediately interrupted him without thinking, wiggling around until Liam loosened his arm a bit to let Niall turn around so they were facing each other. It was kinda dark in the room but the blinds let in some light regardless, so maybe it wasn’t as early as Niall had thought.

“Yeah?” Liam half whispered, as if he wasn’t sure Niall had meant it, rubbing his hand up and down the younger’s back and the blonde suddenly couldn’t take it anymore. They had only ever gotten sexual one time and they clearly both wanted it, so what was the point of waiting again?

“Yeah.” Niall breathed before leaning in, pressing his lips against the other boy’s and Liam immediately gave in, relaxing his jaw and their tongues met a second later, all hot and wet in Niall’s mouth and the blonde groaned when Liam immediately rolled them around, pressing Niall into the mattress as he was lying on top of him.

Their dicks were pressed together like this and Liam reached down while kissing Niall, pushing against his thigh to get the blonde to spread his legs a bit and Niall happily obliged, grabbing a fistful of Liam’s hair to keep his head close to his while they were snogging. Liam didn’t waste any time, thrusting against Niall once more and the blonde was sure he could have come like this just like a few days ago, but he wanted more.

Liam wasn’t wearing a shirt and Niall could feel him shudder a bit as he ran his hand down the brunette’s skin until he reached the hem of his sweatpants, trying to push them down but it wasn’t really working the way he had been imaging it. 

Turning his head away, Niall frantically caught some air as Liam continued kissing his neck instead, sucking on the bruise that was already there, the press of his clothed erection against Niall’s almost making the blonde not want to speak up. “Wait, Liam… can you just… can you just take them off?”

The brunette lifted his head at the request, momentarily stilling his hips which had Niall whining impatiently, trying to thrust up his own while still playing with the hem of Liam’s sweatpants. “Are you s-“

“Fuck, why else would I ask? Just get on with it.” Niall interrupted him, making the brunette laugh quite breathlessly before leaning down to kiss the blonde again, licking hotly into his mouth before pulling away all of a sudden, sitting up on his knees so they both had enough space.

Seeing him like this above him did things to Niall he hadn’t known existed, he just stared at Liam for a moment, taking him in, how fucking beautiful he was, his hair sticking to his forehead, sweatpants already so low that Niall could see his pubes and he couldn’t take it any longer. Liam just let him as Niall reached out to pull down Liam’s sweatpants, just enough to have his erection free and fuck, he was so hard and thick and Niall should have felt stupid for staring but he still did it anyways.

“Your turn.” Liam barely gave Niall any time, seemingly just as eager as he reached down to pull down the blonde’s boxer shorts until his dick sprung free before already leaning down once more to kiss the blonde. Fuck, Niall couldn’t have even made any of this up in his wildest dreams and yet it was happening, right at this moment.

It took some moving around until their erections were finally lined up and Niall moaned against the corner of Liam’s mouth when the brunette rutted against him, both of them too breathless to kiss so they were just panting against one another, holding on for dear life. Niall’s hand was again in the older’s hair, pulling maybe a bit too hard but Liam never complained, he was keeping Niall’s hips in place while moving against him, their mixing precum making the glide easier.

Niall was already close even before Liam suddenly pushed a hand in between them, causing the blonde to hiss when he lightly curled his fingers around the both of them, thumb rubbing over the tip of Niall’s aching erection. It was so fucking good, Niall felt so hot and sweaty all over and all he could smell and taste was Liam, moans leaving his mouth when the brunette started jerking them off in time with his thrusts. He knew he had to be somewhat quiet or at least try, but it was so damn hard.

“You c-close?” Liam was panting against Niall’s skin, his hand making a wet sound each time he moved it, and the blonde didn’t bother answering because he was trying so damn hard to hold back, not wanting to come just yet.

The older’s palm felt slightly rough against Niall’s hot erection, pressing it tightly against Liam’s pulsing cock and rubbing them together, but it was Liam’s fingers cupping Niall’s balls for a moment that finally pushed the younger boy over the edge. “I’m go-“

Liam worked Niall through it, now thrusting against him even more desperately as the blonde came between their bodies and all over Liam’s hand, drawing it out for as long as possible, his head feeling dizzy as he held his breath because of how fucking good it felt. Niall was seeing stars as he was slowly coming down from it, feeling oversensitive as Liam kept thrusting against him just to add to the mess between them as he came with a grunt, pressing his mouth back against the blonde’s as he reached his orgasm.

Damn, they shouldn’t have waited for this long, seriously.

“Fuck… “ Niall was trying to catch his breath, his ears still ringing a bit as Liam rested his forehead against the blonde’s, slowly pulling his hand out from between their bodies but not moving to get off of Niall just yet. 

“You okay?” Liam asked after a moment, pressing his lips against Niall’s cheek and then his mouth. He was keeping his weight mostly on his elbows now, but they were still touching in every way possible, the only thing in between them being Niall’s shirt and their pants not fully pulled down because they had been too impatient.

“’course… we should have done that sooner.” It was true, they really should have and Niall now wished he wouldn’t have ever been nervous about it. Although, this wasn’t exactly what he had been nervous about and maybe he shouldn’t have said his thoughts out loud, but Niall was able to do anything besides think clearly right now. “Honestly… you should’ve fucked me.”

Liam let out a laugh at that, pecking Niall’s lips again before slowly moving to get off of him. “I’m not gonna do anything without lube, trust me, you’d regret it. Since when are we talking about it so openly?”

“Since I can’t really think straight because your hand was around my dick.” Yeah also, they had just woken up and Niall was probably going to be embarrassed about this conversation later, but right now, he really didn’t care. 

The blonde sat up though his head was still spinning, taking off his shirt and wiping himself down with it before handing it to Liam so he could do the same. They couldn’t go shower obviously, Niall could have but he actually rather enjoyed feeling this way, watching Liam as he cleaned himself up before lying on his side next to the blonde so they could look at each other. 

Niall still didn’t know how late it actually was, but he had decided that he didn’t care anymore either. He had work today but only in the evening, because that seemed to have been his schedule for the past month pretty much, which was kinda a good thing for whenever he wanted to hang out with Liam on Friday night’s, but not so good because they had more options when they were together when it was dark outside.

“Have you been awake for long?” Liam asked after a while, he was propped up on his elbow, his hand resting on the younger’s chest while Niall was playing with his fingers. 

“Um, no, you kinda woke me because you were so horny.” Though Niall laughed, it was the truth after all and Liam rolled his eyes but his cheeks seemed to turn slightly red. “I don’t even know how late it is… “

“Can you hand me my phone?” Honestly, Niall had forgotten about the text message at this point, he just reached over with one hand to grab Liam’s phone from his nightstand before passing it to the brunette, allowing him to have his hand back so he could hold it.

Last night only really came back to Niall when he watched the older’s facial expression change as he hesitated before typing something on his phone and even then the blonde was suddenly not sure if he wanted to ask Liam about it. “How late is it then?”

“What? Oh, it’s 10.30, really early for us, on a Saturday and everything.” Liam’s laugh sounded kinda forced and maybe that was all just Niall’s imagination playing a trick on him, but he did see the brunette’s eyes flicker down to his neck for a moment.

“Well, you slept for like 14 hours.” Which was kinda weird, in all honesty, but Liam had probably been exhausted from the training, or maybe it had something to do with the fact that they tended to both suffer sleep whenever they hung out until 2 or 3 in the morning. “How’s your back by the way?”

“It’s all good, thanks to you, babe. But…. I think my hand is kinda hurting now.” Liam was joking, he chuckled when Niall rolled his eyes, but he did actually put down his phone to place his hand back in between the blonde’s and Niall started to unconsciously massage it while still thinking about that stupid text message.

He shouldn’t have read it in the first place, but he hadn’t done it on purpose and he didn’t think Liam would be mad or think Niall was going through his phone, but… was it really Niall’s business to comment on it or demand an answer? Then again, he didn’t want them to have secrets from one another and even if Liam had been trying to protect him, the blonde would have rather he would have just told him.

“You know… “ Niall started after a moment, staring up at his ceiling, not knowing how to put this into words but he probably should have just said it. “Last night after you fell asleep, I lied down next you and I was on my phone and stuff and… I don’t know, I kinda realized I was lying on your phone and I went to put it on my bedside table and, well… I kinda, uh, saw the message Harry sent you, like, about _us_.”

There was silence after that and Niall didn’t look over to see Liam’s face, just kept massaging his hand, not even feeling the slightest bit upset anymore. He had been last night, but there was no way Liam had kept it from him to hurt him or with bad intentions. Still, the brunette seemed to feel caught or think that Niall was mad at him because he took his time to answer.

“Look, um… I’m sorry I didn’t tell, I… I didn’t wanna pressure you or make you think you need to tell Louis, Harry hasn’t said anything to him and I’ve been denying it as well, I don’t even know how he has figured it out. He texted me about that love bite on your neck before I even got to your house and… I didn’t know what to say, he always seems to notice everything and even when we were at the restaurant you work at he already asked me whether we knew each other. But I promise I didn’t say a word and I know I should have told you, I’m sorry, Nialler.” Liam sounded incredibly guilty, he also looked like it when Niall turned his head, feeling bad for bringing it up.

“It’s okay, Li, I know you didn’t tell me because I would have freaked out probably, I… I was kinda upset last night, but it’s none of my business what you and Harry talk about and… I know I gotta tell Louis anyways, maybe this is gonna make it easier somehow, like… I’d rather Louis hears it from me than Harry letting him in on his suspicions… “ Because if he did, they’d surely figure it out in no time, seeing as Harry probably didn’t know about all the times that Niall had ditched Louis to be with Liam. 

“I’m still sorry, I don’t wanna keep stuff from you, I just didn’t want it to make you nervous.” Liam really did know Niall well, because the blonde’s nervousness had definitely doubled ever since last night. 

“It’s okay, I’ll just think of a way to tell Louis this week, I guess, it’s overdue anyways… “ God, just the thought had Niall’s heart beating ten times faster, the only thing keeping him calm being the way Liam was looking at him, grabbing a hold of the blonde’s hand to squeeze it.

“You know I was thinking that maybe… maybe we should tell them both together.” Wait, what?

“You… you want all four of us to meet up?” Okay, this was only making Niall more nervous, he was holding onto Liam’s hand pretty tightly without even noticing, kinda hoping the brunette had just been joking around. “We can’t hang out anywhere, we-“

“My parents won’t be home Tuesday night, I’ll tell Harry I’m having a party and that he should bring Louis.” Wait, wait, why had Liam already planned this out, this was literally two days from now! “Only if you want to do it that way of course, I just thought maybe… maybe you’d be less nervous if I was there with you.”

“That’s really sweet, Li, but… you wanna tell them you’re having a party and then it’s just the four of us and I’ll just randomly pop out of the bathroom and tell them that, uh… “ Yeah, what exactly was he gonna tell them? 

“That I’m your boyfriend?” Liam tried to help out, just using that word as if it was nothing but it had Niall’s eyes going wider, his breath stopping for a moment. They hadn’t really talked about that again, he had just always assumed that Liam was gonna bring it up again at some point but apparently he had thought it was already clear.

“So… so I passed the one month trial, yeah?” Niall tried to joke but he felt quite breathless, warmth spreading in his stomach when the brunette smiled before leaning down to kiss him again.

“With flying colors.” The brunette mumbled against Niall’s lips before pulling away so they could look at each other. 

“Who says you passed mine though?” The blonde just couldn’t help it, Liam was always joking around and he had kinda taken over that habit, making sure to sound playful though because he was actually so excited right now he could have screamed.

“I thought we settled that when I jerked you off before.” Liam was grinning, knowing exactly just how speechless Niall was going to be after that statement.

“So you think _I_ need to prove myself to you for a _month_ , but all it takes for someone to be my boyfriend is to jerk me off?!” Niall tried to sound as shocked and serious as possible, he would have playfully pushed the brunette off, but he enjoyed lying here like this way too much.

“Right, I forgot, you wanted me to fuck y-“

“Liam, you better stop right there.” Trying hard to look pissed off, Niall didn’t kiss the brunette back when he leaned down to connect their lips again, actually just laughing against the younger’s mouth. He was always so amused by his own jokes it was actually hilarious. “I think there’s no need to tell Louis anything now seeing as you’re not taking any of this serious and-“

“Awww, baby, come on, I’m joking, okay? I’m sorry, I couldn’t help it, I completely forgot about what I said a month ago about you being my boyfriend… in my head it was already clear for a while.” Liam shrugged after leaning back again, as if he really meant it and Niall tried to figure out at what moment exactly the brunette had decided that they were boyfriends now. “Don’t be mad please.”

“Too late.” Niall crossed his arms in front of his chest, trying not to look at Liam because he was too good making pouty lips and looking at the blonde with those puppy eyes.

“Please, baby?” He tried again, kissing Niall’s cheek and wrapping an arm around his stomach, but when the blonde shook his head, Liam seemed to change his tactics. “Please forgive me.”

“I-“

Before Niall could have even answered, Liam had already interrupted him by pocking the blonde’s ribs, knowing _exactly_ how ticklish he was and Niall wanted to be even more upset now but he of course couldn’t help the giggle escaping him as he tried to wind out of Liam’s grip. He had to be quiet in case anybody was home and able to hear them, but Liam didn’t seem to care about that as he held Niall tighter, tickling him everywhere he could reach while the blonde was just laughing, having no chance of getting away.

“I’ll stop if you say you forgive me.” Liam sounded more than amused as he kept going, half lying on top of the blonde now and keeping his legs down by putting one of his over Niall’s and the blonde tried to press his lips together but it wasn’t working too well. “Come on, Nialler, say it.”

Niall really tried to resist, tried to wind out of Liam’s grip, but he knew he stood no chance. Even when he finally gave in, he had a hard time actually saying the words between laughter. “F-fine… I forgive y-you!”

The brunette stopped immediately, giving the blonde a chance to take a huge breath, wiping the tears that had formed in his eyes. Fuck, Liam was always using that against him, of course in a playful manner, but Niall really regretted the day he had let the brunette in on how ticklish he really was. “You’re so cute.”

“Shut up, I almost pissed myself.” Niall was actually being a little bit serious, but he allowed Liam to kiss him again, chuckling softly against his lips. “So…”

“So?” Liam asked, brushing some hair out of the blonde’s face and Niall already wondered how he had ever managed to even just pretend to be mad at him.

“So we’re like… a couple.” The blonde tried to not make it sound like a question, but he was looking Liam in the eyes waiting for an answer, his cheeks feeling a bit hot but he wasn’t actually embarrassed about asking because it was an appropriate question somehow.

“If you want us to be.” Liam made it sound easy, shrugging a bit before rubbing his nose against the blonde’s and Niall let his eyes fall closed, wrapping his arms around the older’s shoulders to keep him close. 

“I do.” Niall mumbled, smiling when Liam pressed their lips back together, the butterflies in his stomach literally going crazy as the brunette licked into his mouth. Despite the fact that he was still quite nervous about that text message and telling Louis, the blonde decided that he wouldn’t have minded waking up like this every single morning.

 

\---------------------

 

“Something really strange happened.” When Louis said it, in his usual _you won’t believe this_ voice, Niall already knew what was coming and he also knew that he would definitely be able to believe it.

“What?” They were in the library doing homework and the blonde had been dreading this moment since Saturday morning when he had agreed to Liam’s plan after lying in bed with him for hours, waiting for the right moment to leave his room so they could finally go to the bathroom.

“I saw Harry before and… he said that Liam invited him to a party, tomorrow, which is already strange because it’s Tuesday, right? But he said Liam told him to ask me as well? I mean I really wanna see his house, but… that’s strange, isn’t it? All of it.” This was so stupid, hearing Louis say it like that really made Niall question his and Liam’s choices, but it was too late anyways. 

“I don’t know, maybe Liam’s just strange.” Niall shrugged, pretending to be concentrating on the essay he had started writing on his laptop because Louis was sitting opposite him anyways. 

“How can you be so calm about it? You should definitely come as well, I’m sure he invited tons of people, he wouldn’t even notice if uninvited people showed up as well and his house is probably massive, he’s not even gonna see everyone.” Oh dear, Niall was going to hell. 

“Yeah, I, um, I don’t think I wanna go to his party.” It wasn’t a party so it wasn’t a real lie, right? Maybe if Niall tried telling himself that often enough he was going to be able to believe it at some point. 

“Why not? You also came to Harry’s party and we had fun.” Well… Niall hadn’t had fun, he was only glad he had gone there because otherwise Liam might have still not talked to him and then this whole conversation wouldn’t have even been taking place. “Do you not wanna see Liam’s house even just a tiny little bit?”

“Not really, I mean, it’s just a house. And I wasn’t invited.” Actually, Niall and Liam had discussed this because they had known Louis was going to try and drag him along, but the blonde couldn’t arrive with Harry and Louis because he couldn’t walk up to Liam’s front door just like that. Also, he really didn’t want to arrive with them anyways. “Besides, I don’t think I wanna go to a party on a Tuesday night.” 

“Yeah, that’s the bit that’s kinda throwing me off as well… I still gotta think about it a-“

“Why?” Okay, now Niall was finally paying full attention to Louis because what the hell? He had already been suffering for two days now trying to prepare himself, Louis couldn’t NOT show up. “Might be your only chance to see his house.”

“So? You don’t wanna go see it either but you want _me_ to go see it?” Louis was rightfully confused, so Niall just shrugged, already about to text Liam to ask him to fix this, make sure Louis would show up. Honestly, the blonde wasn’t really planning on saying all too much tomorrow, Liam was so good with words and he didn’t at all seem to mind doing all the work for Niall.

“I don’t know, you were the one whining you wanna see his house and going on about how he looks like a model.” Niall was trying to pretend like he didn’t care but the truth was, he was about to freak out here. This partly had to do with the fact that he couldn’t see Liam today because he had to work after uni and the brunette’s parents were hosting a dinner party where the brunette had to attend. So the most they’d be able to do was Facetime in the middle of the night, which they had done a lot and Niall felt like he shouldn’t have been so sad each day they couldn’t hang, it’s just… he couldn’t exactly control those feelings.

“He _does_ look like a model, Niall, you cannot deny that.” The blonde had never denied that, he very much agreed with Louis, but there was no need to give himself away just yet so he shrugged. Okay, one more day of lying, then it’d be over. “You seriously don’t think he’s good looking?”

“I never said that, he is good looking, everyone knows that… “ Especially Niall after spending two years thinking about it and even now whenever he saw Liam with other people. But it’s not that he didn’t trust Liam or anything, he was just mostly jealous thinking about how everyone was able to hang out with him in public besides Niall. 

“You should come along to the party and try to chat him up.” What the hell?!

“Um, no?” Niall wanted this conversation to end so badly, every word he spoke just got him deeper into this freaking mess that he would have to try and fix tomorrow and he had no idea how. Pretty sure Louis was never going to forgive him. 

“Why, you’re single, I haven’t seen Liam with anyone in kind of a long time and I know I said he’s a fuckboy and I’d be afraid to date someone like that but live a little, Niall.” Okay, what the hell?!

“Can we stop talking about this now? I’m not going to go and chat up Liam, you just said he looks like a model and I certainly don’t so… “ At least there was one true statement.

“You’re not ugly, Niall, I’m sure you’d stand a chance if he was into guys. But hey, maybe you could change his mind if he’s not.” Louis was laughing at his own joke and Niall just rolled his eyes, feeling a little bit better now that apparently the idea of him and Liam together wasn’t too strange to Louis. 

“Can we do our homework now, or… ?” Niall was done talking about this and Louis gave in with a sigh, leaving only a slightly weird feeling behind in the blonde’s stomach that he tried to ignore. At least until tomorrow night.

 

\----------------

 

“Wait, we’re not really having a party, are we?” Niall was confused as he entered Liam’s kitchen and saw that his boyfriend had bought snacks and stuff, as if he was intending on having a ton of people over or something.

“Unless you wanna get engaged right now, then no, we’re not.” Liam laughed, kissing the side of Niall’s head as he passed him by to get to the fridge, his hand momentarily resting on the younger’s hip. “I just thought it’d be rude to not get anything.”

“Not as rude as lying to somebody for a month, but okay.” The blonde was so bloody nervous, he hadn’t slept all night and now that they were about an hour away from it, he couldn’t seem to keep still, constantly feeling out of breath.

“Baby, we’ll explain everything and they’ll understand, I promise. And I’m here, I can do all the talking if you want, you just have to sit there, nothing else, okay?” Liam was so sweet, getting something to drink out of the fridge and Niall would have loved to be drunk right now but he was afraid he was rather going to throw up at the first sip. “C’mon, it’s going to be alright.”

“But it’s so weird, Li, like… them arriving at your house and then seeing that nobody else is here and that it’s not actually a party and then I’ll just pop out from behind a corner like _surprise, we’re dating_ , like… who does that?” They hadn’t really discussed any of this in detail because Niall had refused, he kinda just planned on sitting in the living room and not saying a single word and hold Liam’s hand so he wouldn’t wee himself. 

“ _We_ are doing that because we’re in a weird situation, they’ll understand, they’re our friends, Nialler.” But for how much longer?

Niall had no choice but to go with Liam when the brunette took his hand, walking him into the living room but the blonde remained standing while his boyfriend sat down, biting his thumbnail while walking up and down just to have something to do. Watson was lying on the floor by Liam’s feet, watching the blonde pacing around without moving his head. “Maybe we should cancel.”

“We won’t, it’s only going to make things worse.” True, Liam was always right but Niall would have done anything right now to get himself out of this situation. He should have told Louis from the beginning, about two fucking years ago, but it was a bit late to worry about that now. “C’mere.”

“No, I’m too nervous, I can’t sit down right now.” There was a sigh from the couch and the blonde would have felt bad had his mind not been running wild right now. He couldn’t do this and he was suddenly more than convinced that it was going to end badly. “What if Louis never forgives me?”

“Baby, come here.” Liam repeated, but his voice was a lot softer now and he was holding his arms open for the blonde, so Niall gave in, feeling slightly defeated as he walked over.

He had barely sat on Liam’s lap when the older boy had already wrapped both arms around him, letting himself fall back against the pillows so Niall was half lying on top of him but he didn’t mind at all because it was actually quite comfortable. Liam’s arms were holding him rather tightly and if Niall hadn’t known that Harry and Louis were going to be here in less than an hour, he might have been able to close his eyes and actually enjoy this.

“I promise everything will be okay.” Because they were so close, Liam’s breath hit Niall’s ear and the younger boy felt a shiver going down his spine, moving a bit before putting his hands on top of Liam’s, keeping them in place.

“You can’t promise that… “ Niall mumbled like a stubborn child, but in reality he actually just wanted Liam to try and make him feel better because he was so good at that. 

“I just did. Look, we didn’t just lie because we felt like it, right? There’s a good reason for it and we’ll just explain and be chill about it and afterwards I’ll make you the best dinner ever and you can sleep over and everything will be fine.” It sounded easy when Liam said it like that, promising Niall all these things and the blonde really wanted to believe him, but no matter what his boyfriend could have said, he knew it wasn’t going to make things better right now.

“With making dinner do you mean order in?” There was no need to drag this conversation out, they were just gonna have to do it and what happened was going to happen and at least Niall had the promise of getting to sleep in Liam’s bed tonight. 

“You know I can’t cook, love.” He had tried once actually, but Niall in the end had done most of the work even though he wasn’t that much of a talented cook either. 

“What’re you gonna do when your cook quits?” Niall joked and the brunette chuckled underneath him, rearranging the younger boy a bit so that he could reach his pockets to get to his phone. 

“Then I’m just gonna have to invite you over more often.” It was clearly a joke but the blonde rolled his eyes, only very lightly fighting against the older’s arms around him, having no clear intention of actually trying to get up. “I’m just kidding, babe. You’re right, I should probably learn how to cook.”

“That’s not what I meant, but… I won’t complain if you do.” The blonde had a hard time concentrating on the conversation while the brunette was on his phone, holding the screen in a way so that Niall could read Harry’s text message as well. “Why would it matter if they’re a few minutes late, does he think you’d start a party at 9 pm sharp?”

“I don’t know, I mean, it’s strange enough that I told them to show up at 9 if we’re being honest.” True, and even stranger because no one else knew about this party. “But I told him it was a kinda intimate party, so that Louis will stop asking you to come and so that Harry won’t ask anybody else about it.”

“Imagine their faces when you open the door and it’s literally just you and them.” At least for a few minutes until Niall would be sitting here in the living room, dying on the inside. 

“They’ll get over it, ‘m just glad they didn’t cancel last minute, Harry was really back and forth because it’s a Tuesday and everything.” If they had had cancelled, Niall would have just pretended it had been fate and simply never told Louis anything. “In two hours everything will be over. Do you wanna talk about what we’re gonna say?”

“Not really… I’d rather just lie here.” Niall mumbled before turning a bit so that he could press his face against Liam’s neck, breathing him in slowly in an attempt to calm himself. 

“Okay, baby… “ Liam didn’t protest, he just held the blonde even tighter, kissing his head and Niall let his eyes fall closed, trying not to be too afraid of what was going to happen soon.

They kept on lying on the couch, just cuddling and sometimes talking, but only about random things and nothing about Harry and Louis or what they were going to say to them. Niall could have fallen asleep and he kind of wanted to but he forced himself to stay awake because it’d only make time pass by faster. By the time Harry finally texted Liam that they were gonna be there in a few minutes, Niall had worked himself up so badly that he barely felt able to speak.

Liam of course tried to make him feel better, but he himself seemed to have gotten a bit more nervous and that wasn’t very comforting at all because _someone_ had to do the talking after all. Niall was about to suggest that they might actually plan a little bit when the doorbell rang and the blonde’s stomach literally turned.

“I… I’ll just wait in here.” Niall half choked out when Liam got up, the older’s expression soft but at the same time worried and he nodded before leaning down to kiss the blonde, running his fingers through Niall’s hair. 

“I’ll be right back, it’s gonna be okay.” That didn’t sound too confident but then Liam was already gone and Watson followed him out of the room, leaving Niall all by himself on the couch, genuinely wishing for the floor to swallow him whole right now. 

For a few moments, Niall couldn’t hear anything except Liam’s footsteps and his own heartbeat, but that lasted only for a few seconds before he felt his breath stopping as the brunette clearly opened the front door and the blonde actually didn’t want to listen at all, but it’s not like he could have covered his ears, right?

“Hey, guys.” Though the house was pretty big, Liam’s voice wasn’t actually too far away and Niall listened while sitting there frozen on the couch, because this was it. They were really gonna do this right now. 

“Hi, Li. Wait… are we the first ones here?” That was Harry, Niall had heard him clearly and god, their plan was so fucking stupid now that the blonde thought about it in depth and he hated that he had agreed to any of this.

“Kind of, I-“

“Shit, your dog is huge, man.” Louis sounded really excited and Niall would have found it funny but he was actually about to throw up all over himself right now. “What’s his name?”

“Um, Watson.” Liam answered and Niall wondered for how long they were going to do small talk for before his life was going to literally end. 

“So, this is what you meant with intimate, yeah? The three of us?” See, Harry was having none of that pretending, he had probably already figured it out, like, he had also figured out that Niall and Liam were dating a whole fucking month ago. 

“Actually… no. But I do gotta admit that, like, it’s not really a, um, _party_.” God here they went, plus Liam sounded kinda nervous, maybe they should have rehearsed this whole scenario after all. “But I bought snacks and stuff, so if you want anything… “

“You made up a party so we’d come hang out with you?” Great, now Harry was amused and maybe Louis was as well, which almost _killed_ the blonde inside because things were going to change so bloody quickly. 

“No, but… I’ll explain when we’re in the living room, okay? C’mon Watson.” Then there were footsteps again and Niall almost died from nervousness, not even knowing whether to look at the doorframe or the floor or his own hands and in the end, he couldn’t actually remember where he had been looking at when the other three boys entered the living room with Liam’s dog following them. Fuck.

“Niall?!” Louis was so confused, he actually stopped walking for a second and Niall had no idea what anybody else was doing because he was just staring at his best friend, his mouth dropped open but no words coming out. “Ummm…. Why didn’t you tell me you changed your mind about coming?”

“Guys, what’s actually going on here?” Harry was looking back and forth between them and Niall felt himself flinch terribly when Liam sat down next to him on the couch again, not touching him though. At least not yet. 

“Well… “ Liam started, waiting for the other two to sit on the other couch and by now, Niall was just looking at his own hands, his mouth feeling dry and he was pretty sure he wouldn’t have been able to speak even if he had wanted to. “Me and Niall… we kinda gotta tell you someth-“

“Oh my god you guys?! Are you being for real?” While Louis seemed to simply be confused by the whole situation, Harry had apparently already caught on and Niall didn’t dare looking at him for just one second. 

“Uh, what’s going on? Niall, why are you so fucking pale? I mean, even paler than normally?” Was Louis seriously trying to crack a joke right now? 

“Look, I didn’t really think about how to say this, we, me and Niall, we decided that it’d be best if we both tell you at the same time so I kinda made up that party, sorry for that.” There was a gasp, which very obviously had come out of Harry’s mouth and Niall was playing with his own fingers, his whole body freezing when Liam suddenly put an arm around his shoulders.

“Wait… since when are you two even friends? And tell us what exactly?” This was terrible, Niall felt like he should have said something, but if he had, it would have probably only made things worse anyways.

“We’ve been friends since about, um… a month.” Liam said it just like that, with only slight hesitation, and before anybody else could have replied, the brunette dropped the bomb, like ripping off a band aid. “And we’re also dating.”

“I… _what?!_ Are you… are you being for real right now?! You’re… DATING? You’re dating _Liam?!_ Wait… you two never even talked at uni, you… you’re hiding it, why? Niall, you… you’ve lied for a month straight about being friends with Liam and not only that, you’re _dating_ him?! And you never said a word to me? I thought I’m your best friend?!” Oh fucking hell, Niall was so screwed and he couldn’t even reply, he was just staring at Louis, wanting to apologize, wanting to say anything at all, but somebody else was a little bit faster.

“They can’t tell anybody because their families can’t find out.” Harry explained it rather calmly, as if he had known for ages and had Niall not seen the stunned expression on Liam’s face, he might have thought Liam had told Harry himself. 

“How do you know about that?” Liam asked his friend and Niall was still looking at Louis, who didn’t seem to understand the world anymore. 

“I’ve just heard about it from somebody else, I didn’t think it really matters so I never asked if it was actually true but then we were at the restaurant Niall works at and I noticed you two behaved strange around each other and then Niall ran away from Liam in the cafeteria and… they just coincidentally are always busy at the same time and-“

“Wait, so you’re saying that you had suspicions about them dating all along and you never said a word to me? All of you lied to me except for Liam?” Right, if Louis put it this way, it seemed to make things even worse and Niall felt really bad for Harry now, barely feeling Liam squeezing his shoulders. He needed to speak up. 

“Lou, I’m sorry, okay? But I never lied to you, I just didn’t think it would be appropriate for us to discuss this and Liam kept denying it whenever I asked so I wasn’t even sure if it was true.” Right, they were now discussing Niall’s and Liam’s relationship right in front of them and though Liam seemed to be about to say something, Niall finally gave himself a push.

“Louis, I’m really sorry, for every time I lied to you and I know you’re probably really mad at me and I understand, but… I couldn’t tell you because of our families and if they find out about this they’re going to fucking kill me and my parents will kick me out and disown me and… they’ve hated each other before me and Liam were even born and… this is why I was trying to avoid Harry and why my dad freaked out a month ago, because Harry’s friends with Liam and… my family absolutely despises Liam’s family and… and the other way around. I was afraid if I told you that… that it’d somehow all come out and… I’m sorry, I really am, I should have told you.” Niall’s voice had been shaking, but at least it was done now, at least he had finally been brave enough.

For a moment, nobody said a word and Niall lowered his eyes again, leaning into Liam a bit when the older boy tightened his arm around him, holding him close and the other two were probably watching them right now but Niall didn’t even care. They knew the whole story now, so what reason was there to still hide?

“Can I… can we speak alone, maybe?” Louis was looking directly at Niall now and he didn’t seem mad or anything, so the blonde had no idea what to expect as he nodded slowly. He wasn’t going to feel all that comfortable without Liam, but this was his best friend and Niall had just told him that he had been lying to him for about a month, so… it’s not like he could have said no.

Of course this would leave Liam alone with Harry, but Niall only briefly looked at his boyfriend to make sure he was okay with it and he got a very small smile in return as Liam squeezed his shoulders once more before letting his arm slip. “You can go anywhere you want.”

“Okay… “ Niall felt a bit shaky on his feet when he got up, not really knowing where exactly he was planning on going, but he did avoid eye contact with about everybody, just assuming that Louis was going to follow him anyways.

The blonde had no idea how all of this had happened or what Louis wanted to talk about, he just hoped that it was a good thing that Louis wanted to talk at all and that he hadn’t already stormed out just yet. Walking out of the living room, Niall simply decided to head for the bathroom downstairs because it was almost as big as a bedroom anyways and it’s not like it genuinely mattered, right?

He made sure to close the door once Louis had entered behind him, his heart bumping so fast he could feel the blood pumping through his veins as he turned around, surprised to see his best friend sitting on the edge of the bathroom, looking kind of clueless. “Niall… what are you doing?”

“What do you mean?” The blonde was so nervous and he absolutely hated it, he felt so fucking guilty and there was nothing at all he could do to make any of this undone. 

“Are you really dating Liam? Since a month?” Louis waited for Niall to nod before continuing and the blonde sat down next to him, not too close though because this conversation wasn’t over yet. “How did that happen?”

“The thing is that… I’ve had a crush on him, pretty much the very first time I saw him at uni two years ago. But I couldn’t talk to him because of our families, they, uh… our dads had a business together and they had a huge fight and I don’t know what really happened but ever since I can remember, my parents have been going on about how the Payne’s are the devil and whatnot… so if anybody found out about us or simply saw us talking, we’d both be dead. But I, uh, I used to watch Liam during football trainings and he drove me home after Harry’s party and… and we started to hang out at the library after I ran away from him in the cafeteria and exchanged numbers and he took me on a date in another city and… I’ve been wanting to tell you for ages but… I didn’t know how and I was afraid somebody might find out or… or I don’t even know.” Niall felt a bit helpless really because what else could he have said?

“So now you’re… sneaking around with him and driving to other cities to hang out? Since a whole month?” Yeah, it sounded quite ridiculous when Louis said it like that. “Are you sure this is a good idea?”

“Why?” Well, it wasn’t a good idea at all because it made Niall lie and his parents would have killed him had they found out about it. But it also was a really good idea because Niall was so fucking in love with Liam and he felt so good being around him that it just didn’t seem like it could have ever been wrong. 

“Well… just because of the reputation Liam has and… he’s not like, I don’t know, using you for sex or some-“

“No, what? We, uh, we’ve never even had sex, it’s not like that at all and Liam only has that reputation because people are idiots, he’s not an asshole, he’s really sweet and funny and… “ And Niall loved him, but he stopped himself before he was able to actually say it out loud. “I really like him, I’m just scared somebody will find out and tell my brother or my dad and I should have talked to you, ages ago, but like… I didn’t think anything would ever come out of my crush and then it did and the whole thing with Harry and Liam being friends, it’s just gotten so fucking complicated. I really am sorry though, for everything, I… I promise I’ll never lie again.”

Louis didn’t answer immediately, so Niall was somehow afraid that his friend would simply storm out or something, but actually, he did nothing of that sort. “Niall… I’m not mad at you, I just wish that… that you would have trusted me, I wouldn’t ever tell anybody, Nialler, you’re my best friend, I want you to be alright and I’m happy for you if you’re happy with Liam, okay? I just wanna make sure that he’s not like… using you or hurting you or something.”

“No, I… he’s not, not at all, he’s amazing and… Lou, I really get it if you’re mad at me, I really do and I trust you, I just didn’t know how to tell you and then I thought I’ve already waited too long anyways and… I thought you’d never forgive me.” Kinda dramatic really, seeing as Niall hadn’t really lied about major things and they had been friends for fucking ages, this wasn’t the first time one of them hadn’t stuck to the truth. 

“There’s nothing to forgive, Nialler, I get that you were afraid and I mean… it’s not like you _have_ to tell me about who you’re dating or anything and I know I kinda overshare about those things sometimes and… anyways, it’s all good, as long as Liam makes you happy. And also… I wanted to apologize.” That was kinda unexpected and Niall looked over at his best friend, not knowing what he was going to say because what on earth did Louis have to apologize for?

“What do you mean? You didn’t do anything, Tommo.” It was Niall who had screwed up everything, but then again, not really because for some reason Louis had already forgiven him. 

“I did and I thought maybe it has something to do with why you didn’t tell me about Liam… I’m sorry that when I started dating Harry that we suddenly hung out a lot less and I just always talked about him and wanted you guys to like each other as well and no matter why you were trying to avoid him… I did push it and I shouldn’t have. I’m sorry.” Louis sounded completely serious and Niall almost couldn’t believe that this conversation had turned out like that. He should have agreed to Liam’s plan all along, should have told Louis ages ago. 

“You don’t have to apologize for that, Lou, I mean, I was kinda annoyed at first, but I get that Harry’s your boyfriend and you wanna spend most of your time with him, it’s all good. I mean… maybe I was a bit upset at first, but the real reason I had to avoid Harry was because of Liam, so… “ And now they were all in here together, in the same house and somehow it still felt really surreal to Niall.

“Good thing we can all hang out together now, right?” Hearing Louis laugh right now was maybe the biggest relief to the blonde, he almost couldn’t join because he was busy looking at his friend, making sure it was real. “But hey, I can’t believe that you never told me about how amazing this house is, like shit… how often do you hang out here?”

“Whenever Liam’s parents aren’t home, but that isn’t too often actually… Liam’s been to my house as well though.” No need to include that he’d sometimes, or most of the time, climb in through Niall’s window. “You know after the football game? That’s the first time I was here, Liam actually never… he never drove me home that night.”

“Seriously? How has no one caught you yet?” Louis actually sounded really serious about that question and maybe Niall had asked himself the same thing a few times as well.

“Um, Liam had to hide in my closet once, actually… I was really paranoid after that.” Still was, actually, but Louis laughed at the story for a moment so Niall brought himself to smile. “Maybe we should go back… d’you think Harry and Liam are fighting?”

“Nah, I doubt it. If Harry really had suspicions… I can’t believe he didn’t tell me. Thinking about it now, you didn’t really hide your relationship that well, I can’t believe I didn’t figure it out myself, actually, you’re a terrible liar. I had a feeling something was up all along, but… wow, Liam Payne, huh? At least now I know why you never wanted to talk about him and where your mood swings were coming from.” Niall flinched a bit when Louis put an arm around his shoulders because he hadn’t at all expected it. “Anyways, let’s go back, you kinda got me worried that the other two might be going at each other’s throats or something.”

“They wouldn’t do that… “ But then again, Niall had no idea of really knowing so he made sure to get up quickly once Louis did as well, silently praying that things had turned out as well for Liam as for him.

Once they got back to the living room, Niall immediately found his boyfriend’s eyes, giving him a small smile to indicate that everything was fine before going to sit back down next to him, relief washing over him when Liam intertwined their fingers. “Everything okay with you guys?”

“Yeah, it’s all good, we talked about it.” Louis was the one who answered and Niall nodded along, making sure to look at Harry as well but he seemed quite happy and the blonde wanted to hug Liam right now and never let go again. “So, Liam, I just have one question left… did you really buy snacks or… ?”

“I did, actually, they’re in the kitchen.” When Liam moved to get up with a laugh, Niall automatically went with him, still holding onto his hand because he hadn’t even thought about letting go. “I can just get everything.”

“You don’t have t-“

“I’ll help carry it.” Niall immediately jumped in and the knowing look on Louis’ face kind of made him blush, but then he just shrugged as he went with Liam, squeezing his fingers. 

The kitchen was connected to the living room, so it’s not like they could have really talked in private, but that was perfectly fine, Niall simply wanted to kiss Liam for a moment, hug him and thank him for all of this.

“Is everything really okay?” Liam half whispered once they had reached the kitchen, softly pulling his hand out of Niall’s to cup his cheek, thumb brushing over the blonde’s skin. 

“Yeah… we had a talk and… he’s not mad at me or anything, I’ll tell you everything later. How did it go with Harry?” Niall was talking so quietly, he wasn’t sure if Liam could really hear him, but the brunette smiled anyways, pecking the younger’s mouth.

“It went fine, we just talked. See, I told you everything was going to be alright, didn’t I?” The smirk on his face was a bit cocky now and Niall rolled his eyes but he didn’t resist when Liam kissed him again, kinda wishing they would have been able to take this further. 

“You did… thank you so much, Li, I would have never been able to do this on my own.” The blonde whispered against Liam’s lips once they pulled apart and the older boy kissed his forehead before hugging Niall tightly, making him go all warm and happy and just… he was so glad that everything had turned out like this.

“I’d do anything for you, Nialler, you know that…” Liam mumbled into the younger’s hair, holding him more tightly as Niall pressed his face into the brunette’s neck, breathing him in.

Harry and Louis stayed for a while and at first it was slightly weird, but Niall found himself grow more comfortable with the situation rather quickly and it was actually kinda nice, finally being free to be with Liam in front of his best friend, no more secrets between them. Niall knew that not everything was perfect, that of course the situation was still shit because of their families, but at least for the night, the blonde felt perfectly happy and content.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey guys :)
> 
> thank you all so much for the support, youre all very lovely & kind <3 i know a lot of you were waiting for smut & for niall to tell louis, so thats what you get haha! i hope you all enjoyed the chapter and i gotta admit im kinda relieved niall finally told louis ha! if you paid a lot of attention maybe youll figure out why i had to seperate them at liams house and send niall & louis to the bathroom!
> 
> anyways, i hope you all had a great week and i hope you have an even better weekend, let me know if you liked the chapter if you want and if not, thats ok as well! also, i was thinking about writing a oneshot (or two-shot haah) in the coming weeks bc i cant stop thinking about this idea i had, so i might even upload more than once soon!
> 
> <3


	8. Chapter 8

Niall was kinda nervous that maybe Louis would still decide to be mad at him after all, but after a few days, the blonde managed to calm himself down about it. Everything was like always between them except for the fact that Louis would ask about Liam all the time, which was fine though, deep down Niall knew that his best friend was asking because he cared. And probably also because he liked to tease Niall a bit.

All in all, things seemed to be pretty close to perfect actually, there was no more lying to his best friend and though Liam and Niall still had to be sneaky of course, for some reason it seemed easier now. Maybe because that weight had been lifted off of Niall or maybe because now he had somebody he could actually tell about just how amazing Liam was. 

And who knew Louis was actually so curious that he would sit with the blonde in the stands just to watch the football team train?

“So this is what you did for two years whenever I asked you to hang out after uni and you said you were busy?” Before Harry, this hadn’t happened all too often, but Niall still felt his cheeks growing a bit hot as he nodded slowly, making Louis laugh. “Jesus… you really got it bad, Nialler. And you were making fun of _me_ for simply worrying about what to wear on dates.”

“Lou, you changed your shirt 50 times before your first date with Harry and you blew up my phone with pictures of every single one of them from different angles. I don’t think that really compares to watching Liam play football.” Niall was trying to pout, but his friend was just laughing at him anyways, not taking him serious at all. “Besides, it’s kinda entertaining to watch, not just because of Liam.”

“Mhm, sure, whatever you say.” Louis didn’t believe him obviously, which made sense because it wasn’t the truth and at times Niall had actually been so bored watching he had already thought about simply leaving. Not anymore though. “I gotta admit though, he kinda suits those clothes.”

“That’s literally my boyfriend you’re making heart eyes at right now.” Niall couldn’t help it, he had been wanting to say something every time Louis had called Liam good looking before, but now he was finally able to speak up, even if it just made the older boy laugh at him.

“Oh my god, I can’t even compliment him? How often did you wanna punch me in the face for calling him a model?” Too often.

“Each and every time.” Niall shrugged because it was the truth and maybe he should have felt embarrassed, but Louis was already laughing at him anyways. “If you do it again I’m gonna tell Harry.”

“So? I think we can all agree Liam’s the best looking out of all of us and it’s just so funny to see you getting all bothered by me saying it.” Of course Louis was loving this and maybe Niall would have gotten mad, but how could he have? He was just glad that Louis had forgiven him and if he was being honest, he kind of really enjoyed sitting here with his best friend. “Did you know that Liam didn’t let Harry on the team because he did so terrible at tryouts and the other team mates all voted against him?”

“Seriously?” The blonde didn’t turn his head to look at his friend, his eyes were staying glued to Liam the whole entire time. He hadn’t even touched him just once today and it was driving Niall insane that he’d have to wait until the training was over and everyone was gone. 

“Yeah, but that was already a year ago. Maybe I should try to make the team, I’m way better than Harry.” Now Niall did turn his head with wide eyes, a bit shocked, but Louis was grinning at him, bumping his elbow into the blonde’s ribs. “Don’t get your knickers in a twist, Nialler, I’m joking. I know I’m not allowed to talk to Liam in public. Or look at him, except when you’re there to monitor where my eyes are going.”

“I never said you weren’t allowed to _look_ at him. If you wanna go around drooling over him all day then you can do that, just know I’m gonna be the one who gets to see him naked.” It just slipped out, but Niall didn’t actually regret it just a tiny little bit, because at least it surprised Louis for a moment.

“Woah, where did that come from?” He was laughing though, so everything was good and besides, it’s not like Niall had lied. “I thought you’ve never had sex before?”

“We haven’t, um… there’s other stuff we can do.” Niall rolled his eyes upon having to say it out loud and actually, he didn’t really enjoy talking about how they had never slept with each other. Or that he had actually NEVER slept with a guy before. 

“You wanna sleep with him though?” Louis sounded slightly more serious as he asked, suddenly looking for something in his bag, which gave the blonde a moment to prepare his answer.

“Um, yes.“ The blonde hesitated before continuing, reminding himself that this was his best friend and that maybe, it wouldn’t be such a bad idea to talk with him about this. “It’s just… I mean, we’re not alone all too often so we gotta be quiet and then whenever we are alone it’s like… I don’t know. I’ve never slept with a guy and… yeah.”

“Has Liam? Slept with a guy, I mean?” Okay, this was a weird question for Louis to ask, while they were sitting here literally watching Liam, but Niall nodded anyways. “Then he knows what he’s doing, Niall, you don’t have to be nervous about never having slept with a guy. And Liam’s not pressuring you or anything, is he?”

“No, not at all, he never even talks about it unless I bring it up.” Which wasn’t too often, except that one time a few days ago before Niall had even told Louis about any of this. “It’s not that I don’t want to or that I think he would be too rough or anything… I just don’t know what to expect.”

“Really? After all those times I told you about my sex life?” It was a joke, obviously, but then again, there was still a bit truth in there. 

“You think I was listening to that? And I’m not as kinky as you are.” Niall pulled a bit of a face at his friend as he briefly remembered a few stories the other boy had told him while Louis just chuckled. 

“A vibrator is not kinky.” There it was, Niall had already heard enough once again, but he had been too slow to cover his ears so of course Louis was having a lot of fun with that. “Seriously though, don’t be nervous. It’ll be fine, it might hurt a bit if you’re not on top, but it’s like… a good kinda hurting.”

“Okay, thanks, I didn’t ask.” God, Niall was so fucking blushed now he absolutely hated it, he just wasn’t so open talking about these things with other people besides Liam. 

“Oh, Niall.” Was all Louis said with a laugh, ruffling the blonde’s hair out of nowhere, as if he was a child or something. “I always feel like I’m having _the talk_ with my son whenever we talk about that stuff.”

“Louis, I’ve had sex before, okay? I just don’t wanna talk about it with you in every single detail. And don’t call me your son, that’s just weird.” Niall managed to move away this time when Louis tried to put an arm around him, which only made the other boy laugh harder. 

“I thought your moodiness was going to go away now that you told me you’re dating Liam, but I guess I was wrong. You’re just a moody person.” The blonde turned his head to glare at his friend for just a second, not wanting to waste any more time that he could have spent staring at his boyfriend though. “What? It’s true.”

Niall didn’t answer immediately, he wanted to switch the topic to something Louis wasn’t going to be having this much fun with, but that really limited his options. “So what are you going to do once the training is over and I meet Liam in the locker rooms?”

“Well, I was actually going to ask you both to come hang out with me at my house because Harry will be there and I know you can’t go to either of your own houses tonight, but… if you’re being this rude… “ Shit.

“It was just a question, I wasn’t being rude.” The blonde tried his very hardest to not sound upset because honestly, hanging out at Louis’ tonight was his only chance at getting to be with Liam anywhere that wasn’t in a smelly locker room. 

“So you wanna come then?” Maybe Louis saw the excitement on Niall’s face that the blonde was trying to hide so desperately as he nodded because he smiled at the younger boy, not in a mocking way this time. “Good, because I already told my mom. And don’t worry, she’s not gonna say a word to anyone about Liam and my younger siblings either can’t talk properly or are away at a sleepover at my grandparents’ house.”

“Okay… thanks, Lou.” Niall hadn’t actually been worried about his sisters or parents, but it was still calming to know that Louis had spent time worrying about it for him. “I’ll ask Liam after the training, but I’m sure he’s gonna say yes.”

“He’d be stupid not to, really. I mean, I’m feeling a little bit like a life savior right now. Or a Friday night date savior.” Louis sounded very proud of himself and Niall simply rolled his eyes at him with a smirk because it was kinda true after all. “Just don’t get too freaky on my couch, okay?”

“I can’t promise that.” Shrugging, Niall laughed when he saw Louis’ fake shocked expression, his chest feeling a lot lighter now though.

They watched the training for a few minutes without much talking, Louis typed on his phone, probably telling Harry that Niall and Liam were going to come hang out with them later, and Niall was busy staring at his boyfriend, thinking about how he’d get to cuddle with him today after all. God, Liam was so good at football and he was all sweaty but still smiling, sometimes looking up to where Niall and Louis were sitting but not waving because it would have been too obvious. Niall was so in love it was ridiculous.

“I wanted to ask you something.” Louis said after a while and the blonde wasn’t too worried about that, so he just waited for his friend to continue. “What exactly happened between your family and Liam’s? I mean, I know your dads had a fight and stuff, but like… what was so bad that they hate each other this much?”

“I don’t actually know in detail, like… my dad just always told me that he and Liam’s dad had this business together, the one Liam’s dad is still running, and that they had a fight which led to my dad leaving, or being thrown out. So then no one else wanted to hire him because Liam’s dad ruined his reputation or something and that’s why we barely ever had money when I was a lot younger. So I suppose that’s why my parents hate Liam’s family so much, because they think it’s Liam’s dad fault that they have to work two jobs and that me and Greg have to help out with our own money as well, all while Liam’s family is super rich. But the thing is… I don’t know if any of that is actually true.” Nothing else would have really made sense though, would it?

“Have you never talked about it with Liam?” Louis seemed surprised by the answer Niall had given him, and also terribly curious to the blonde’s displeasure.

“Not really. We both decided it’s bullshit and that neither of us really knows what happened, I mean… that was more than twenty years ago, it’s not like we can change it.” And God knows they would have just wasted their time trying.

“But why would Liam’s family hate your family? I mean, I get it the other way around, but like… Liam’s dad got the business and all the money, right?” Right, but Niall didn’t really enjoy thinking about that because this was literally the source of all his problems.

“I don’t know, Lou… maybe their fight was just this bad.” It was kind of weird to discuss this with Louis, also the fact that he seemed to be more interested in the whole story than Niall had ever been. 

“Still, it’s super weird, it’s like some twisted Romeo and Juliet love story, innit? You and Liam literally weren’t even born when it happened and yet they’d probably throw you out if they found out you were dating. Who hates somebody for 20 years without ever speaking?” At this point, Niall had gone over to simply shrugging because there was nothing left to say, he didn’t know any more than he had already told Louis. “Maybe… maybe somebody got killed.”

“Are you implying that my dad is a murderer?” Niall didn’t know if he should have been amused or angry, so he decided to go for the first because he didn’t like his own family that much to be seriously offended. “You watch too much TV, Tommo.”

“Not saying it’s your dad who did it, maybe it was Liam’s. Or maybe somebody else, I don’t know, anything could have happened, right? If you and me had a business and a simple fight, I don’t think we wouldn’t speak to one another for over twenty years.” Louis was right, but then again, Niall’s dad had real anger issues and he wasn’t the most pleasant person to be around, so… “I can’t believe you never matched the story your parents told you with what Liam’s parents told him.”

“Why would we do that? It wouldn’t change anything.” It’d only make things worse if anything because what if something REALLY bad had happened, something-

“Oh my god, imagine if it’s like super crazy and one of your moms cheated and you’re actually brothers.” Maybe not THIS bad.

Niall didn’t even answer anymore, he just stared at Louis in confusion and slight disgust, not finding the right words to tell him to just shut up. He was curious about what had happened alright, but this was going a little bit too far. “Lou, seriously? What the fuck?”

“I’m joking, my god. You _clearly_ don’t share the same DNA.” The blonde had no time to think about how much of an insult that had been because Louis had somehow managed to change the topic again a second later. “I think they’re done, how long do you think you’ll need to get to my house?”

“I, uh… I don’t know yet, I gotta talk to Liam. But wait, are you leaving already?” It kinda looked like it and no matter how annoyed Niall had just been with his best friend, he still didn’t wanna wait here by himself until Liam texted him. 

“No, I can wait with you. Do we have to wait until _everyone_ left though?” He sounded a little bit unwilling, but Niall didn’t feel too bad because it was 30 minutes at most and surely Louis would be able to wait that long to see his own boyfriend again. Seeing as he had just kept Niall from looking at his for the last few minutes. 

“Yeah, but it won’t take too long. We can talk about our essays in the meantime.” Niall suggested with a grin because he had already known that Louis was going to groan and refuse to talk about anything uni related, and that’s exactly what he did.

Though they weren’t speaking about the feud between Niall and Liam’s families anymore while they waited, Niall’s mind was still stuck on it somehow and he absolutely hated it. He was trying hard not to care because he knew he couldn’t have changed any of it anyways, but it did kinda make him want to ask Liam about it, just to check whether they had been told the same things.

 

\---------------

 

“I say we watch something a little bit more… _exciting_ next.” Harry threw an apologetic look at his boyfriend while saying that but really, it was no secret that Louis’ move choice had been absolute shit. Not like Niall minded though because he had Liam right next to him on the couch to cuddle with.

“Fine, you choose one then. Or these two, if they ever stop making out.” Louis cleared his throat very noisily when all Niall had done was kiss Liam lightly on the lips before leaning right back. 

“I don’t mind what we watch, I enjoyed the last one as well.” No idea if Liam had been serious or whether he was just trying to make Louis feel better, but he sounded quite serious and Niall just nodded in agreement as he put his head back onto his boyfriend’s shoulder, cuddling up closer to him though that hardly seemed possible.

After Liam’s training, Niall had made sure to snog him in the locker rooms because they didn’t really have the chance to anymore here, but Liam had been equally excited about getting to hang out at Louis’ and, of course, he had teased the blonde about having been right about them having more options now that they had told the other two.

Louis’ mom hadn’t said a word, she had just greeted Liam after he had introduced himself and then she had left them to do whatever, so they were all in the living room since one and a half hours now, having watched some movie Louis had apparently been wanting to see since _ages_. Niall highly doubted that that was true though.

After a small discussion, Harry and Louis finally came to a decision, putting on some scary movie that Niall was pretty sure he had already seen, but he was barely paying attention anyways. He was so comfortable right now, wearing Liam’s football hoodie that had his last name on the back and having both feet on the couch, just leaning into the older’s side while Liam had an arm wrapped around his shoulders and the other one in the younger’s lap, holding his hand.

Honestly, Niall felt kinda bad thinking this, but this right here was just another reason why he should have told Louis ages ago. Even if that brought up conversations like the one they had had before at the football field that somehow had still not left the blonde’s mind.

“What’re you doing?” Niall whispered, holding tighter onto Liam’s hand when the brunette suddenly tried to pull his away, lifting his head off of the older’s shoulder to look at him.

“Just gotta check my phone.” Liam chuckled quietly, probably at how desperate Niall was, kissing the younger’s forehead before letting go of his hand. The blonde tried not to pout too much, but he was definitely very happy when the brunette intertwined their fingers again a moment later, shoving his phone back into his pocket. “Baby… do you have work tomorrow?”

“Yeah, until midnight… why?” Honestly, Niall should have probably complained at some point because he had never had such shit working hours all the time he had worked at that restaurant, but he was just terrified of getting fired.

“Can I pick you up after you’re done? My mom just texted me that she’s going with my dad on his business trip and they’ll be gone from tomorrow evening until at least Monday night.” Liam was whispering but he still sounded excited somehow and Niall felt a massive smile forming on his lips as he nodded, maybe a bit too eagerly. 

“Yeah, of course… we should skip uni on Monday.” Niall just said it without thinking, but the idea sounded brilliant in his head and judging by Liam’s face, he seemed to be thinking about it as well.

“Maybe we should… “ He sounded thoughtful, running his fingers through Niall’s hair and down his cheek before leaning closer and the blonde hadn’t really expected it, but he didn’t resist when Liam kissed him, nudging the younger’s lips apart.

It was highly inappropriate actually, to be making out on the couch when Louis and Harry were only a few meters away, but the room was dark except for the TV and they were being quiet. Plus Niall kind of forgot about being embarrassed after only a few seconds of snogging Liam, trying to hold back every single pant and noise as he held on tighter to his boyfriend, shivers going down his spine. 

Of course they had been bound to be noticed, but Niall still flinched pretty hard when he felt something hitting his head that had unmistakably been a pillow having been thrown by Louis, causing them to pull apart in surprise.

“There’s a major scene happening right now and you guys are making out?” Louis sounded pretty amused though and Niall shrugged, licking his lips because they still tasted like Liam and for a moment, he actually thought about simply going back to kissing him because just being this close and looking into his eyes made it pretty damn hard not to.

“Babe, just leave them be.” Harry stepped in, sounding pretty close to laughing as well though and Niall decided that he didn’t actually care what they had or hadn’t seen. “We can rewind.”

“Um, I don’t think that’s necessary.” Liam quickly answered before any of them could have grabbed the remote and Niall had to bite his lip so he wouldn’t start laughing, his eyes meeting Louis’ for a moment and the other boy just shook his head at him, a crooked smile on his lips. 

Sadly, they couldn’t really go back to snogging after that, but Niall still enjoyed being able to cuddle with Liam while the brunette would stroke his hair and let the blonde play with his fingers and by the end of the movie, Niall couldn’t have even named one single character because he felt so sleepy and comfortable. He did fully wake up though when Louis suggested they should have ordered something to eat, but that was really the only time Niall was okay with separating from Liam for more than a few seconds.

At around midnight, Niall felt himself getting a little bit nervous, like, he didn’t want to spend the night away from Liam and he hadn’t asked him yet whether he felt up for climbing up a tree for him tonight just so they could basically go right back to bed. Liam sleeping over when Niall had to leave at a certain time the next day wasn’t really convenient though because even if the blonde’s parents were going to leave for work at some point, they never really knew where his brother was.

So when Liam very gently adjusted the younger boy against him after they had watched the last movie, Niall actually wished he would have fallen asleep for real. “I think we should probably leave before you fall asleep on me, baby.”

“Hmm.” Was all Niall made because he really didn’t want to, but he sat up when he felt Liam moving underneath him, about to ask him to come home with him because he really didn’t wanna be without him tonight, but Louis was a lot faster.

“You can just stay, you know. There’s enough space on the couch, my parents wouldn’t mind and almost all the kids are gone anyways.” Louis said it as if he had been planning on suggesting it all along and Niall almost wanted to say yes without even thinking about it or checking with Liam first.

“Are you sure it’s no bother?” The brunette asked, of course he did, because he was polite and Niall almost wanted to tell him to just be quiet, but he didn’t.

“It’s fine, don’t worry. I think wouldn’t Niall be too happy to spend the night without you.” Louis must have noticed the blonde’s inner conflict because he laughed while Niall simply let himself fall more into Liam’s side again because he definitely wasn’t going to go home tonight.

“I would have gone home with him anyways.” Liam wrapped his arms back around Niall, pressing a kiss to the side of his head and Niall felt warmth spreading in his stomach. “But if it’s really okay if we-“

“It is. I’ll get you some blankets and pillows from upstairs and you can figure out the sleeping situation by yourselves.” No idea what that intense stare that Louis threw at Niall was supposed to mean, but the blonde decided to ignore it because he pretty much had everything he had wanted right now and tomorrow morning, he wouldn’t even have to be afraid of anybody noticing Liam being inside his house. 

Louis wasn’t able to ask his mother whether it was okay if they stayed because she was already asleep just like everybody else, but he promised them that it’d be fine before getting them two blankets and pillows, pretty much telling them to sleep wherever and however they wanted before he and Harry disappeared upstairs, leaving Niall and Liam to it. Both of them had showered at home before coming here and put on more comfortable clothes, so there was no need to borrow anything from Louis even though he had offered like ten times.

“Maybe we should go to my house.” Niall couldn’t help but say it out loud after staring at the couch they were sitting on for a few moments, thinking about how small it really was, not in length, but sleeping next to each other was going to be pretty much impossible.

“You really are super clingy today, huh?” Liam chuckled, quietly, because they didn’t wanna wake anybody and the blonde pouted at his boyfriend, rolling his eyes at him. 

“If you don’t wanna cuddle with me then what’s the point of us being here?” It was true though, they were only here because they didn’t wanna sleep without one another. 

“You’re so dramatic.” He wasn’t lying, but he also ruffled the younger’s hair with a laugh when Niall shook his head at him, about to complain when Liam suddenly let go of him only to lightly push against the blonde’s shoulder. “Stand up for a second.”

“What, you want me to get up so you can lie down and have the couch for yourself?” For a moment or two, Niall actually thought that that was Liam intention, but then he saw the older’s amused expression as he got up so he wasn’t too worried anymore.

“Yeah, totally, you don’t mind sleeping on the floor, do you? And can you get the light as well since you’re already standing up?” Liam made himself comfortable on the couch while Niall watched with pulled up eyebrows, waiting for his boyfriend to turn on the flashlight on his phone before turning off the lights, ready to complain, but he never got that far. “Okay, c’mere.”

“There’s no space.” Niall complained, but the thought of literally having to sleep fully on top of Liam didn’t seem too much of a bother actually.

“We both know you really wanna do this, baby.” True, Niall was just attempting to act pissed off for a little bit longer, but it was just so hard to resist that invitation.

The blonde hesitated for another moment before simply going to lie on top of Liam, making sure to take the blanket with him but it was the brunette who had to untangle it in the end and attempt to cover them both equally. They were pretty much the same height, but Niall made sure to slip down a bit so he could press his face against Liam’s neck, against his bare skin. Yes, this was definitely the best position to sleep in, no doubt. 

“Are you feeling better now?” Liam was half whispering, rubbing his hand over the younger’s back underneath the blanket and Niall felt really blissful and actually very sleepy once more.

“A bit. Maybe I wanted to be on the bottom though.” Niall couldn’t help it, just mumbling against the older’s skin though, feeling his body vibrate underneath his own when the brunette chuckled.

“You can be bottom tomorrow when we have the whole house to ourselves and don’t have to be quiet.” Okay, that had been more than just unexpected, Niall felt himself freezing up a little, his cheeks getting hot and probably really red, but Liam had already turned off the lights on his phone so he wouldn’t be able to tell. Had he really meant what Niall thought he had? 

“I can’t believe you just said that.” It was kinda a joke, but somehow it hadn’t been and the blonde wasn’t sure if he was supposed to feel excited or nervous after Liam so clearly voicing what he was planning on doing tomorrow.

“I was just joking, you know that, right?” All of a sudden, the brunette sounded very serious, almost as if he felt guilty or something, which was not what Niall had wanted at all.

“I know… “ The blonde started, hesitating for a moment but then deciding that there really was no reason to be nervous about this topic, he had literally told Liam he wanted to have sex with him a few days ago. “We do have the whole house to ourselves though… “

“Yeah, we do… for two nights even.” Liam’s hand was now in Niall’s hair and the blonde had closed his eyes a long time ago, trying not to randomly pass out in the middle of the conversation. “But we’ll only do anything if you want to as well and you don’t have to be bottom of course.”

“Thanks, Liam.” Niall couldn’t help but let it come out with a bit of sarcasm, but he immediately felt put at ease once more. “I think… I want to though.”

“Well, you don’t have to decide right at this second, you actually never have to decide at all, we’ll just see where it goes and maybe one of us doesn’t even feel up for it tomorrow or Sunday, so… no pressure.” Liam made it sound really easy, which Niall highly appreciated because despite the fact that he trusted his boyfriend 100% and had had sex before, this was still very different. “Should we try and sleep so we can wake up before everyone comes downstairs to stare at us?”

“Oh my god, Louis would totally take pictures, can you set an alarm?” Though Liam laughed at that, Niall had actually been dead serious, Louis would _totally_ do that.

“Do you really want me to? I guess we’ll probably wake up anyways, at latest when you fall off of the couch in the middle of the night.” True, though Liam was holding Niall rather tightly right now, they both tended to move a lot in their sleep.

“Now I really wanna be on the bottom.” It would have worked of course, it’s not like Liam was always the big spoon or as if he had never put his head on Niall’s chest, but he was definitely heavier than the blonde.

“We can switch if you want.” Liam seemed to mean it because he already moved a bit underneath the blonde, kind of making Niall panic for a second because moving was the very last thing he wanted to do right now.

“No, it’s okay. If I fall I’m just gonna blame you for not holding me tightly enough.” Sounded like a brilliant plan. 

“If that makes you feel better.” The older boy pressed a kiss onto the top of Niall’s head, breathing out hotly against his scalp and sending shivers all the way down the younger’s spine. “Should we sleep now?”

“Hmmm, not yet.” Before Liam could ask, Niall had already forced himself to lift his head, aiming to give Liam a goodnight kiss but his lips first only found his chin and then his nose before finally succeeding, pecking Liam’s mouth while the brunette was clearly trying to hold back his laughter.

Strangely enough and even though he did almost fall off of the couch in the middle of the night and Louis woke them in the loudest way possible the next morning, Niall didn’t at all feel opposed to sleeping like this again in the future.

 

\-------------------

 

It was hard, concentrating on work with the prospect of getting to see his boyfriend afterwards and being able to stay with him for maybe even two days, but Niall somehow managed to get through it. They had seen each other in the morning of course, but they had both gone home already hours before Niall had been supposed to be at work, so he didn’t feel too clingy and desperate for snogging Liam the moment he had gotten into his car and closed the passenger door. 

Niall had brought his uni stuff and some clothes to change, having told his parents that he was going to stay with a friend for a bit, but they had also never asked where he had been Friday night, so maybe the blonde could have spared himself the trouble.

“Are you hungry?” They were both lying on Liam’s bed watching TV, already having showered because Niall hated how he smelled whenever he got done working at the restaurant. 

“Not really, it’s like… almost 1 in the morning.” Not that late for them actually, sometimes they’d stay up until 3 or 4 in the morning if Liam couldn’t stay overnight. “You?”

“I kinda am, I was thinking we could order something, but if you don’t want anything, I’ll just get myself something.” Liam moved his arm very gently because it was underneath Niall’s head and the blonde moved a bit to allow the brunette to sit up. “Are you sure though?”

“Hmmm… what are you getting?” Niall wasn’t hungry, but thinking about seeing Liam eating next to him in a bit, he suddenly wasn’t so sure anymore. Plus he didn’t want it to be like last time where Liam had ended up sharing his food with the blonde because Niall had apparently stared a little bit too much at the brunette’s pizza. 

For a second, Liam didn’t answer but rather typed on his phone before suddenly handing it to the blonde with a knowing look on his face. “Here, just get whatever you want and then order, I already put mine in.”

“I’ve got no cash though, I-“

“Ni, I said get whatever you want, you don’t need any cash.” Liam always said it like he wanted Niall to just assume that he was paying for him, but the blonde was never going to do that and he was also never going to try and talk Liam out of it.

“But you also paid the past few times.” There was no arguing with Liam on that, Niall was aware of it but he still wanted to at least try. He knew Liam didn’t do it because he thought Niall couldn’t afford it or anything, he just wanted to do it for the sake of it.

“So? You’re at my house, so I’ll pay.” Liam shrugged and Niall suppressed a sigh as he thought about what he wanted to eat. When they had ordered food while they had been at Niall’s house, it had also been Liam who had paid for everything, with the excuse that because he was a guest at Niall’s house, he was the one who should be paying. 

“Okay, I ordered.” Niall handed the phone back before sitting up as well, leaning over to accidentally make Liam flinch by kissing him on the mouth without a warning. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome, babe.” The brunette’s smile was soft as he rubbed the back of his fingers over Niall’s cheek for a moment, checking his phone again before lying back down and pulling Niall with him. 

It was super comfortable, Liam’s arms were tight and Watson jumped up on the bed after a while, warming the blonde’s feet while they watched TV. Niall almost slept in a few times, so by the time the food arrived, he actually thought he’d have a hard time going downstairs to eat and then back upstairs again, but strangely enough, he actually felt really energized once they got back to Liam’s room after finishing their food.

“Are you tired?” Liam probably asked because it was like 1:45 am or something, Niall hadn’t really checked the time ever since he had gotten off of work. 

“I was really tired before, but now I’m not.” The blonde shrugged, feeling stupidly happy about the fact that Liam had actually gotten him a toothbrush for whenever he slept over. Brushing their teeth together surely shouldn’t have been this exciting, but somehow it was. “You?”

“I’m good.” The brunette was talking around his toothbrush, going to sit down on the edge of the bathtub and Niall thought about sitting next to him, but then he settled for just staring while they continued to brush their teeth until Liam noticed. “What?”

“Nothing.” Niall moved to the sink to spit it, trying not to think too hard about what he and Liam had been talking about last night, about how they could spend their time alone. The blonde had actually been thinking about it at work and all day today as well, but he had thought they’d surely be asleep by now so he hadn’t really prepared himself in case anything was going to happen. “Do we have to go back downstairs to let Watson pee in the garden?”

“Yeah, but you can stay in my room if you want, I’ll be back in five minutes.” Liam promised after putting away his toothbrush, pressing an unexpected kiss to the blonde’s forehead before calling out for his dog and leaving Niall alone in his room. 

Somehow, Niall wished he would have been so tired he wouldn’t have had any energy to still think about sleeping with Liam, but the more he tried not to think about it the worse it seemed to get. Like, it’s not that the blonde thought he HAD to do this, he actually really wanted to and it was hard not to get excited after Liam had kinda promised him they would at least do _something_ while they had the house to themselves. 

Sure, tomorrow was another day, but by the time Liam came back upstairs without his dog, Niall had gotten himself so excited he almost blurted right out with it. “Did you leave him outside?”

“No, he’s just downstairs, he’s probably gonna scratch at the door any moment.” Liam laughed but he still closed his bedroom door before coming over to the bed where Niall was sitting, blanket pooling in his lap while he was biting his thumbnail, trying to find the right words. Maybe Liam was too tired or not in the mood, but then again, maybe he was also waiting for Niall to say something, so… “Do you wanna watch a movie or-“

“No.” Niall interrupted his boyfriend without thinking while the brunette was climbing onto the mattress, confusion spreading in his face as he looked at the blonde, probably waiting for him to explain himself. Damn, Niall was a little bit blushed for sure, but he wasn’t really nervous saying those kinda things to Liam or asking about it, he just didn’t wanna simply say _’hey, let’s have sex right now’_. “Um, you know what we talked about last night?”

“Hmmm, no, what do you mean?” Almost instantly, Liam’s smile had come back, the confusion gone and Niall rolled his eyes at the brunette as he seriously waited for an answer, all while scooting closer and the blonde tried not to feel the excitement build up yet again. It was obvious though, that Liam wasn’t at all opposed to the idea right now judging by the look on his face and his hand rubbing up and down Niall’s thigh.

“Oh, come one, you know what I mean.” Niall couldn’t help but be a little bit annoyed with the other boy, letting out a sigh before he looked away from the brunette, biting his bottom lip as he decided to just say it. “Can we have sex?”

“Right now?” Liam asked, obviously greatly amused by the blonde simply saying what he wanted and Niall couldn’t help but nod because what the fuck, he wanted Liam so fucking badly. “You could have just said that in the beginning, you know?”

“Shut up.” Before this could make Liam laugh anymore, Niall quickly turned his head and leaned over to kiss his boyfriend on the mouth, very pleased when Liam immediately kissed him back, nudging his lips apart as if he had been waiting for this to happen all day. Maybe he had, Niall couldn’t have been the only one wanting this so badly it hurt, right?

The brunette’s hand was cupping Niall’s cheek while they were snogging, going right at it even though it had only been a minute or something, but the blonde was very pleased with that because now that Liam was touching him, he felt like he wouldn’t have survived waiting any longer than necessary. 

Because they were sitting down, it was hard getting into a lying position without breaking the kiss, but somehow they managed to do it and Niall didn’t have time to think about it anyways because his head was only filled with Liam and nothing else. The way his tongue felt in his mouth, the way he tasted, his hand against Niall’s face and his fingers tracing his skin after having slipped underneath his shirt.

Niall did feel a little bit like a horny teenager when he wrapped his arms around Liam’s neck to keep him close, grabbing a fistful of his hair as he sighed into his mouth, barely being able to believe that they were really doing this right now. Maybe Niall could have asked for this weeks ago already, maybe Liam had just been waiting for the blonde to open his mouth because he almost seemed even more eager than the blonde right now. 

Kissing Liam was the absolute best thing in the world, he was so fucking good at it, his tongue rubbing against Niall’s, soft and plush lips against the younger boy’s and his beard scratching against the blonde’s skin. It was so different than kissing anybody Niall had been with before, it felt so much more intense and every touch of Liam’s made the blonde feel as if he was on fire or something. In a really good way though. 

When they broke apart for just a second because they were running out of air, Niall’s lips felt spit slicked and swollen and he didn’t bother opening his eyes when Liam’s lips moved down his neck, pressing open mouthed kisses onto the younger’s skin, sucking on his neck while the blonde tried to even out his breathing. 

“Liam… “ Niall didn’t even know what he had been wanting to say, the older’s name simply slipped out, sounding more like a sigh than anything else, his fingers pulling lightly on Liam’s hair as he tilted his head back to give his boyfriend better access as he marked up his skin. Liam always tended to leave a lot of love bites on the blonde, which was kinda irresponsible and risky really, but Niall had never complained about that and probably never would. 

Once Liam seemed satisfied with what he had done, he slowly lifted his head again, still panting a bit and Niall blinked his eyes open for a moment so he could look at him, shivering a bit underneath the older’s touch as Liam reached out to brush some hair out of Niall’s forehead. “You really want to do this? We don’t have to, we can stop anytime.”

“I know… but I really want you. If you want to as well.” It wasn’t only Niall’s decision after all, but seeing the look on Liam’s face made it pretty clear that he wasn’t going to be the one to say no. 

“Of course I do, but I don’t want you to feel pressured or anything, I know you’ve never done this before, not with a guy, I mean, and it is kinda different and-“

“Li, I trust you and I don’t care if I’ve never done it before, I want to now.” Niall wasn’t scared that he’d embarrass himself or anything, this was Liam after all and he knew he’d never hurt him or make him feel bad for being inexperienced, so what was the point in waiting when neither of them wanted to?

“Okay. But promise me that if anything’s off you tell me or somehow let me know and I’ll make sure to stop, okay?” Liam sounded very serious about this so Niall refrained from rolling his eyes because in reality, he did feel his stomach warm a bit from how much he knew Liam cared about his well-being. 

“I promise.” The blonde had barely said it before Liam’s mouth was already back on his, his hand finding its way back underneath the younger’s shirt and the conversation had already long faded into the back of Niall’s mind when Liam licked back into his mouth.

Niall couldn’t help that he was already getting hard just from a bit of snogging and having Liam on top of him, his weight pressing the blonde into the mattress, leaving Niall little possibility to move, but that was fine really. Having Liam in almost complete control over the situation was turning Niall on more than he had thought was possible even if he had been thinking about the brunette in that way for a really long time. Something he’d never tell him of course.

When they pulled apart once more it was kinda hectic and they were both running short of breath when they sat up just to rip off each other’s shirts before lying back down. None of this was new, but it still gave Niall shivers to feel Liam’s skin pressed against his own, being able to run his palms up and down his bare back, feel the muscles underneath the skin while they were kissing, so desperately that Niall thought his lunges were going to burst if he wasn’t going to get some air soon.

The blonde made sure to spread his legs a bit so Liam could lie in between them, rocking their hips together, but way too slowly and with way too many layers of clothing in between for Niall to be fully satisfied. He wanted all of Liam, right at this second and he didn’t want to wait anymore.

“Can you… take off your clothes? “ Niall somehow choked out between trying to catch his breath when Liam’s mouth slipped off of his, the older boy breathing heavily against the blonde’s skin, giving him even more goosebumps than he had already had anyways. “Li… please… “

“You’re so impatient…” Liam laughed breathlessly and Niall would have rolled his eyes had he not felt so fucking desperate for his boyfriend. 

The brunette did sit back though, fully, his skin was flushed and his lips swollen, hair a complete mess from Niall’s fingers having been in it, but his eyes were sparkling when he looked down at the blonde with a smirk and he had honestly never looked better. 

Though Niall could have stared at Liam pretty much all day long without getting bored, he barely hesitated before reaching out to tug at Liam’s sweatpants and the brunette just let him pull them down until his erection sprung free and Niall got even more impatient. He couldn’t fully undress Liam in this position sadly so the brunette did the rest himself while Niall took off his own pants.

“Your’e really excited, huh?” Liam seriously DARED to make a joke, his eyes on the blonde’s erection and Niall wanted to slap him right now, but he wanted him to fuck him more. 

“Okay, and you’re not or what?” Just because Niall hadn’t done it often and because he knew it’d stop Liam from laughing at him, he simply reached out to wrap a hand around the older’s cock, jerking him off for only a second before Liam already sucked in a breath, hand wrapping around Niall’s wrist to stop him.

“Wait, wait, I need to get something.” Niall had no time to complain, but at least he got to watch Liam getting off of the bed completely naked to go search for something in his nightstand on the other side of the bed where he usually slept.

The blonde couldn’t help it, he felt so hot and bothered and turned on and he didn’t care if Liam was still searching for whatever in his nightstand, wrapping a hand around himself as he waited for his boyfriend to get back. “Liammm… “

“Yeah, yeah, one second… “ He seemed to have finally found what he had been looking for and Niall felt a bit stupid for not having considered that they’d need lube and condoms, he was just way too impatient. “You couldn’t wait for one minute?”

“No, just… touch me or something.” Niall couldn’t help but whine as Liam got back on the bed, grabbing a hold of the younger’s wrist to stop him from jerking himself off, intertwining their fingers though instead of doing what the blonde desperately wanted him to do. And he didn’t actually know what he wanted, he just wanted Liam to do _something_.

“I will, just… you really want to, yeah?” Liam was being really serious, he did move to lie back down on top of the blonde, their skin pressed together in all the right ways and Niall never wanted to move again, except for thrusting his hips up against the brunette’s to get a little bit relief. 

“Yes, I do, really.” The blonde refrained from rolling his eyes because he knew Liam really cared about his well-being, his hand was still in Niall’s, having moved them above the younger’s head as he looked into his eyes while Niall tried not to lose his mind. 

“Okay, how do you wanna do it? Do you want me to be on top?” It was so Liam to just straight out ask the blonde, but then again, it did seem kinda appropriate seeing as Niall had never done this before.

“Yes.” He hesitated for a moment, not sure what answer to give, but he’d rather Liam did all the work and besides, the thought of getting to feel the brunette inside of him was kind of the only thing he could really think about right now. “Can we just stop talking now? Please?”

“Alright, alright, just wanted to check.” Liam chuckled before leaning down to kiss Niall, more gently now and less desperate than before even though they were both rock hard against one another and Niall just couldn’t help trying to push his hips up against Liam’s again because he had definitely waited long enough. “Okay… it’d be easier if you turn around.”

“Hmmm… “ Niall wasn’t too happy about having to stop kissing Liam, but when they fully pulled apart and Liam let go of his hand, sitting up a bit to allow the blonde to turn, Niall did lie on his stomach, resting his head on his folded arm so he’d be able to watch Liam at least a little bit. “Is it gonna hurt?”

“A bit, I’ll try to not make it hurt, okay? Tell me if it does though and I promise I’ll stop and I won’t be mad.” Somehow Niall did regret asking that question because now Liam seemed a bit worried, but on the other hand, the blonde definitely was slightly nervous even though at the same time he felt like he wouldn’t make it another minute without Liam touching him. 

The brunette didn’t go for it like Niall wanted him to, he leaned over him first to kiss the back of his neck and then down his spine, giving Niall about a billion goosebumps once he finally reached his arse and the blonde let it eyes fall closed when he heard Liam reaching for the lube.

It caught Niall a bit on surprise when he felt the older’s fingers rubbing up against his hole, he had never touched himself there like that and of course no one else had either, so it was a weird feeling, but like, it was Liam and it did feel kinda good. For now at least.

Liam didn’t push his fingers in immediately, he just made sure to spread the lube across the younger’s skin, occasionally moving his finger to rub over the younger’s taint, making him groan in frustration as he pressed his face against his arm, trying not to push his ass back against Liam’s hand. “You okay?”

“Yeah, I’m f-“

Niall kinda got cut off a little when Liam suddenly pushed the tip of his finger inside the blonde, very slowly and gently and it didn’t hurt but it rather caught the blonde by surprise. The brunette went so painfully slow that Niall would have told him to hurry up a little had he not been kind of afraid of the pain.

So he let Liam bury his finger as slowly as he wanted until it was all the way in and Niall had to get used to the feeling at first, but after Liam had kept pushing his finger in and out for what seemed like ages, the blonde was pretty fucking desperate for him to get moving. “Do another, I’m good.”

“You sure?” Liam always double checked, he was also rubbing his free hand over the small of Niall’s back, maybe to soothe him or something but the blonde barely noticed, he was a lot more focused on Liam’s finger suddenly brushing his prostate, making him jerk.

“Oh, shit, do that again.” There was a quiet chuckle behind him but before Niall could complain, Liam was again pressing his finger against the bundle of nerves, getting a moan out of the blonde that he hadn’t even seen coming himself. “Fuck… Liam… “

“Feels good, yeah?” Liam sounded kinda proud and Niall just moaned some more, trying to push his ass back against Liam’s finger, his erection trapped against his belly and the mattress probably ruining the sheets because he was so wet and in all honesty, Niall was a little bit afraid he might cum just like this, with only Liam’s finger rubbing against his prostate.

When Liam added a second finger Niall did feel the stretch but it wasn’t unbearable by any means so he made sure to keep quiet, afraid the brunette would have stopped otherwise out of fear of hurting him. Niall was a freaking mess by the time Liam added a third finger, scissoring them apart to stretch Niall’s hole for his cock and the blonde wasn’t even sure anymore if he’d be able to last that long. He had no idea what he had expected from having Liam finger his ass, but it surely hadn’t been this.

“I think… _fuck_ … I’m ready… please… “ Niall added the last part because he wanted Liam to take him serious, his words kinda came out slow and interrupted by pants because shit, Liam’s thick fingers thrusting into him and rubbing against his walls was probably the most pleasure the blonde had felt in a really long time.

Liam didn’t answer immediately, he just kept on fingering the blonde, again rubbing against his prostate until the blonde was moaning his name, biting his lip bleeding as he tried to hold back because of how fucking close he was to just ruining the older’s sheets. “Okay… are you s-“

“Don’t you dare ask me that again.” Niall half snapped at his boyfriend, not intentionally though, he was just really fucking worked up and sweaty and already missing the feeling of Liam’s fingers inside of him when the brunette pulled them out.

There was a short laugh and then Niall heard Liam open the condom but he decided to keep his eyes closed when the brunette prepared himself in fear that watching would make it even harder for him to hold back. “Alright… I’ll go slow.”

When Liam leaned over him after what seemed like ages, Niall could feel his heart beating so fast he was afraid it might actually stop when he felt the head of Liam’s erection pressing against his entrance, the older boy panting a bit above him and Niall bit his own arm when he felt Liam slipping inside, lowering his body on the younger’s back. Shit.

It did hurt, there was no denying, but Niall didn’t make a sound until Liam was buried all the way inside him, his pulsing hot erection in Niall’s ass, their skin sticking together because of how sweaty they both were and the blonde actually wanted to cry from relief. But he didn’t of course, he just needed some time to catch his breath while Liam waited, running his fingers through the blonde’s hair, kissing the back of his head and his cheek, just anywhere he could reach. 

“You can move, ‘m good.” Niall mumbled after a while, the pain slowly dulling as he got used to the stretch, trying to move a bit underneath the brunette to show him that he really meant it.

“Okay… tell me if you want me to stop, baby.” As if Niall would have ever done that.

Liam’s mouth was right by Niall’s ear so his breath hit the blonde’s skin as he panted when he started pulling out slowly before rocking back inside, gently, but it was enough to push all the air out of Niall’s lunges and the blonde had to bite his lip again, trying to get used to the feeling. “Okay?”

“Yeah… “ Though Niall felt a bit of pain, he definitely wanted Liam to keep going, pushing his arse up a bit to show him that he really was fine.

Literally hearing how much Liam was enjoying this was definitely the second best part after the obvious, he was panting and moaning into the blonde’s ear while thrusting into him, going faster after a while when Niall told him to because the pain had faded and instead the blonde was just desperate for Liam to pound harder into his ass. Had Niall known it’d be like this, he would have wanted to do this right inside Liam’s car after their very first kiss.

“Shit… you feel so good, baby… “ Liam’s voice was more like a pant if anything, he was pressing shivery kisses against Niall’s skin sometimes while fucking him into the mattress and Niall just moaned in return when the brunette’s cock finally hit his prostate.

“ _Yeah_ …. Like that, Li… _h-harder_ … “ Niall literally saw stars dancing in front of his eyes when Liam followed his request immediately, the blonde was pretty sure he heard the bedframe bumping against the wall by now but he couldn’t think straight anymore. Not with Liam’s cock inside of him, piercing his prostate with every thrust and his own erection rubbing against the sheets with every movement, so naturally, Niall was more than frustrated when his boyfriend suddenly slowed to a stop before fully pulling out of him. “Liam-“

“Turn around, I wanna look at you.” Liam barely left Niall any room to move, his voice sounding hectic and breathless and his face was flushed and sweaty once the blonde turned around, spreading his legs as far as possible, desperate to get Liam back inside of him.

This was so much better, Niall watched as Liam quickly grabbed a hold of himself again to line himself up, bottoming out with only one push and Niall thought he had to die from pleasure as he wrapped his legs around the back of Liam’s thighs to keep him closer but they kept slipping off when the brunette’S thrusts were getting harder again. “L-Li… “

“Fuck… you look so… _shit_ … beautiful… “ Niall’s arms were back around Liam’s neck, fingers digging into his skin as they looked at each other before the brunette leaned down to catch Niall’s lips in a messy kiss that tasted a bit salty from how sweaty they were, but the blonde wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.

They were more panting into each other’s mouths than really kissing and when Liam suddenly found a way to squeeze a hand between their bodies to wrap his fist around the younger’s aching erection, Niall was pretty sure he drew blood on Liam’s back. “Y-Yeah… Li… ‘m gonna… ‘m gonna cum… don’t s-stop… “

Niall was literally so fucking close, feeling Liam’s rough palm jerking him off unevenly, his thumb rubbing across the smeary tip, spreading the precum while his cock was massaging Niall’s prostate, hitting it dead on until the younger boy thought he was going to suffocate from lack of air. “G-Go on… c’mon… “

When Niall came it was a bit out of nowhere, Liam’s mouth was still messily pressed against his and the blonde tightened his arms, holding his breath as the brunette fucked him through his orgasm, his thrusts getting uneven as he came as well, moaning Niall’s name while they were both riding out their highs. 

It seemed to last forever and Niall couldn’t remember ever coming this hard, his ears were ringing once he came down from it, feeling oversensitive as Liam was still slowly thrusting inside of him before slowing to a stop and Niall forced himself to blink his eyes open so they could look at each other.

Liam looked like a right mess, his hair damp with sweat and his lips swollen and shiny and Niall just felt gross and sticky, but he also kinda never wanted to move ever again. There was only one thing on his mind as he stared at his boyfriend above him, Liam’s fingers feeling cool against his skin as he rubbed them down Niall’s cheek, saying exactly what was on Niall’s mind. “I love you so much.”

“I love you too.” This was the first time any of them had ever said those words and they made Niall’s stomach go warm as they smiled at each other for only a second before Liam leaned down to kiss him again, slowly but deeply, and Niall had never felt happier in his whole life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey guys, thank you all for the lovely feedback on the last chapter <33
> 
> i really hope you liked this one as well! i did hint a bit at future things happening and maybe also some drama ;) let me know what you thought if you want! :D


	9. Chapter 9

Niall felt completely blissed out when he woke up the next day with Liam still wrapped all around him, holding him tightly while breathing evenly against the younger’s bare skin and the blonde decided not to move for a while and just enjoy this right here. Liam was really warm and the blonde almost felt a bit hot underneath the blanket but it was fine, neither of them had put on clothes last night and in all honesty, Niall could barely remember going to sleep at all.

Last night still made him shiver as he let it replay in his head, especially when Liam had told him that he loved him before kissing him again. Though Niall thought it had kind of been impossible, he had fallen even deeper in love with his boyfriend and he was pretty damn sure that nothing in this world could have ever changed that.

It seemed so bloody ridiculous now to think about all the time Niall had spent pining after Liam and to now wake up with the older’s naked body pressed up against his while he slept. Niall couldn’t have imagined anything better in the world and had they just spent all day lying here like this, he would have been perfectly fine with it.

Liam did start to move after a while though, maybe because Niall had been drawing patterns on his arm in the half lit room, the brunette’s face pressing deeper into the back of Niall’s neck as he sighed sleepily. “Li?”

“Hm?” The brunette still sounded half asleep, tightening his arm around the blonde and Niall’s didn’t mind at all. He had woken up with one of Liam’s legs between his, so they were impossibly close now and Niall didn’t feel like separating anytime soon.

“You awake?” Niall whispered just in case, not wanting to wake the boy on accident or something because there was absolutely no reason to. It was Sunday and they had the whole day and night and yeah, Niall should have done some uni work maybe, but they could also do that later, right? 

“Kinda… “ There was a yawn that Niall actually felt against his own skin right before Liam pressed his lips against the back of his head and then his neck and shoulder, making the blonde smile. “How’re you feeling?”

“Great... my arse kinda hurts though.” Not badly, just a little and maybe Niall should have expected that but he hadn’t really thought about it in that great detail once Liam’s first finger had been in his ass. 

“I’m sorry, I should have warned you.” Liam actually sounded guilty and Niall would have turned around to look at him to tell him there was no reason to, but he just felt too fucking comfortable right now, so instead, he just intertwined their fingers.

“’s okay, I don’t mind, it’s not bad or anything. Actually… it’s kinda hot ‘cos it keeps reminding me of last night whenever I move.” That was very true actually but it still seemed to amuse Liam because he chuckled quietly against Niall’s skin.

“So I take it as in you had fun?” Was that even worth a question really?

“Hmm, I’ve had better.” Niall lied, hearing Liam fake gasp behind him before he suddenly propped himself up on one elbow and the blonde let himself fall onto his back so they could look at each other. Liam looked really sleepy still, his hear was messy from last night and there was an obvious scratch from Niall’s finger nails down the side of his neck that the blonde couldn’t even remember making. 

“You were moaning my name pretty loudly for that though.” Liam pulled up one eyebrow, obviously trying not to smirk when Niall simply shrugged, reaching out to touch the mark he had left on his boyfriend. 

“I’ve moaned other names louder.” The blonde teased until Liam rolled his eyes, catching his hand though as he let a finger slide down the side of Liam’s neck and bringing it up to his lips to kiss his knuckles.

“Mhm, is that so?” The brunette let go of Niall’s hand just to lean down closer, his arm still underneath the younger’s head moving a bit so that the blonde ended up even closer next to him. 

“Yeah, but I’m not gonna tell you who it was.” Niall really hoped that Liam knew that last night had been the best he had ever had, like, he was obviously joking, but there was literally nothing that had ever compared to being so intimate with Liam. Also, Niall had never felt so intensely for anybody else before and so damn comfortable to just talk about anything at all as if they had known each other all their lives or something.

“You wanna know what I think?” Liam asked before pressing his lips against Niall’s and the blonde let his eyes fall closed for a moment, moving his hand up again to wrap around the back of Liam’s neck.

“Hm?” Niall made, the older’s lips still almost brushing his and their noses rubbing together whenever either of them moved the slightest bit. 

“I think you’re a liar, baby.” Not giving Niall a chance to answer, Liam was already kissing him again, more deeply this time and Niall had long gotten over kissing his boyfriend without brushing his teeth first in the morning because they had done it what felt like a hundred times before. “But I still love you anyways.”

When Liam said it, or more like whispered it against Niall’s mouth, the blonde felt himself smiling, his stomach growing warm as he played with the hair in the back of Liam’s neck, keeping him close as he answered. “I love you too, Li… “

They kissed again and Niall immediately relaxed his jaw when he felt Liam’s tongue against his lips, allowing the brunette full access to his mouth, giving him some flashbacks to last night that made his face feel hot and his skin tingle. There was no way Niall was going to be able to wait for very long before sleeping with Liam again, now that he knew what it was like, he kinda wanted to just do _everything_ with him, just try it out because he trusted the boy 100%.

They only pulled apart when there was some whining at the door and Niall would have gotten annoyed had he not felt bad at the same time. Liam had always allowed his dog to sleep in the bedroom with them, usually not in the bed though, but last night they had just fallen asleep with the door closed of course. Plus, they wouldn’t have wanted to have Liam’s dog watching them while having sex obviously.

“You should let him come in.” Niall said after a while of Liam pressing more small kisses against his lips. 

“Hmm… I kinda don’t wanna move though.” Liam did seem guilty though and he let out a sigh after a second, pressing another kiss against Niall’s lips before moving to get up, making the blonde shiver a bit by lifting the blanket for a moment. “Sorry, baby.”

“It’s fine… can you hand me my phone?” Liam collected his sweatpants from the floor first while Niall was watching him, thinking about how much of an godlike body his boyfriend had before Liam covered half of it with some pants, handing the blonde his phone from the nightstand before going to open the door for his dog. 

“Hey, buddy, sorry for locking you out last night.” Watson sounded pretty excited about getting to see Liam again but Niall was busy checking his phone in the meantime, almost wanting to roll his eyes into the back of his head when he read Louis’ text message.

 

_Louis 10:34 am  
Hope youre having fun ALL alone in liams mansion, if you need any condoms or anything more fun you can text me anytime ;)_

 

“I really regret telling Louis about your parents being gone until Monday night.” Niall mumbled as he typed out a reply, trying not to be too annoyed at Louis. 

“Why?” When Liam came back to sit down next to Niall again, Watson jumped up on the bed as well, trying to lick Niall’s face while the blonde showed his phone screen to his boyfriend, making him laugh. “What does he mean with more fun?”

“Trust me, you don’t wanna know what Louis and Harry are into, it’s disturbing.” Well, it could have surely been worse, but Niall wasn’t at ALL interested in whatever his best friend liked in bed. 

“You don’t know what I’m into, maybe you think it’s disturbing as well.” Liam said it as if he seriously meant and the blonde was a little bit worried when he looked at his boyfriend, having to move a little because Watson had decided he needed half the bed to spread himself out and probably pay them back for last night.

“Um, what do you mean? Do you have like, I don’t know, some freaky kinks I should know of?” Oh god, now Niall was genuinely getting scared and though the brunette was laughing at his phone, that didn’t exactly make things any better.

“I guess you’ll just have to wait and find out, love.” The brunette winked at Niall and the blonde really wanted to brush it off as a joke, but somehow he just couldn’t.

“You don’t have some crazy 50 shades room in your house though, right?” The blonde sat up now, the blanket covering him from the waist down but he still felt kind of cold. “Is that why you only showed me like 3 rooms when I was here the first time and called it a house tour?”

“I only showed you 3 rooms because we won’t ever walk into any of the other rooms anyways, it’s only guest rooms and offices.” Liam shrugged but he clearly noticed the uncertainty in the blonde’s face because he reached over to ruffle his hair. “You’re genuinely afraid now of what I might be into, aren’t you?”

“Um, yes? Who wouldn’t be, I mean, I could live if you had like… a vibrator or hand cuffs-“

“Really?” The brunette interrupted, sounding very amused and Niall felt his cheeks getting a bit hotter, possibly also red. “Good to know, I’ll remember that. Anything else?”

“I’m not saying _I’m_ into that stuff, I just mean in case you are then… “ Then whatever, Niall just made some movement with his hand, feeling pretty damn stupid for even having started that conversation because now he was genuinely wondering if maybe he himself wanted to try that stuff sometime. 

“Then we can try them out if I want to?” Liam made sure to ask, as if he genuinely wanted permission or something and Niall just rolled his eyes but he half shrugged anyways. “Is that what Louis was talking about then? He wants to borrow us his hand cuffs?”

“Maybe, I don’t know, he was just joking.” Or maybe he hadn’t been. “He just always tells me too many details about his sex life.”

“Like what?” Okay, why was Liam so damn interested in that, he even half lied down while asking, petting Watson’s head while Niall tried not to feel too weird about this.

“I don’t know, like… what kinda positions he did and that, like, Harry ate his ass or something, I don’t even know, he just tells me this stuff without me asking about it.” Niall shrugged, stopping himself at this point because he really didn’t wanna get into this and also, he didn’t wanna imagine it on accident.

“That’s not kinky or disturbing though, we should do that.” Liam said after some hesitation and Niall was confused for a moment, just staring at his boyfriend for a moment before he finally understood, thinking it had been a joke so he pulled his eyebrows up at the brunette, putting on his most annoyed expression ever.

“You wanna eat my ass, Liam?” Niall wouldn’t have asked this sarcastically had he known that his boyfriend had been serious, but he only found out like 1 second later.

“Yeah, actually, I wasn’t joking. You’d like it, I’m pretty good at it.” He shrugged as if he had just told Niall he was good at drawing or something. Okay… this was not what Niall had been expecting the first morning after to be like. “Why are you so surprised, Nialler? It’s a normal thing people do, you know.”

“I know, I’m not stupid, I just… I’ve never thought about it.” But now he was and it was pretty distracting, if Liam’s fingers and his cock had felt this amazing, what was his tongue going to feel like? 

“Well, let me know if you wanna try anything. The only thing I’ll be eating in the next hour though is some breakfast.” Liam was so amused with his own joke that he actually started laughing at himself and Niall just shook his head slowly.

“You’re impossible, you know that, right?” But so fucking cute at the same time.

“You love me for it.” The brunette shrugged, still chuckling as he sat up just to lean over and unexpectedly kiss Niall on the lips, his face happy when they pulled apart and the blonde couldn’t help but return his smile even though his cheeks still felt a bit warm.

Breakfast was the only meal of the day they were good at preparing themselves, which was a good thing because they couldn’t have really ordered in all the time and they also couldn’t have gone out in public together. Then again, if all had failed, they could have just poured themselves some cereal and probably gotten filled up as well.

They watched some TV while eating on the couch and afterwards Niall helped doing the dishes even though he really did not want to, but it was for Liam so the blonde of course didn’t say anything, but his boyfriend gave him about a million kisses afterwards so it was all good. Just to be a bit productive, Niall suggested they could have done some uni work for a few hours and Liam sadly agreed, so they actually had to do it.

It was fine doing work next to Liam, but it was also really distracting, which Niall had of course already known, but he just couldn’t help wanting to touch his boyfriend all the time and talk to him because they obviously couldn’t do that whenever they wanted. Then again, they also couldn’t really have stopped doing homework and studying because then they’d have a whole different problem other than having to be in a secret relationship.

By the end of the day, Niall had mentioned how little he wanted to go to uni the next day so much that Liam finally gave in and agreed to just skipping so they could use the time they had left until his parents came back home. Though it only gave them a few more hours really, the blonde still kinda felt like the luckiest guy in the entire world when Liam kissed him goodnight that night, telling him that he loved him for the third time. Not that Niall had been counting or anything.

 

\------------------

 

“Niall, wait.” The blonde was confused when he heard his name, just before he had been about to step out into the rain with nothing to cover his head with because he had somehow thought that it’d be warm today. “Are you going home?”

It was Harry, of course having a raincoat on because he wasn’t an idiot like Niall who had had to meet up with his boyfriend in secret so he could ask him to borrow his jumper because he literally had had nothing else to put on. It was just black though, so no one would have noticed anyways and Liam had been wearing something underneath luckily, but he had playfully scolded the blonde a bit and then hugged him for a while to warm him up. They had almost gotten caught but it had definitely been more than worth it.

“Yeah… are you?” He very obviously was, but Niall didn’t know what else to say, briefly looking around to check whether anybody they knew, in particular his brother, was anywhere near them, but it didn’t seem like it so the blonde relaxed a bit. 

“Yeah, do you need a ride?” He was smiling at Niall and the blonde kinda wanted to say no, just because his paranoia was sometimes really getting to him, but then he thought about it for a moment and why would he have said no?

“If you don’t mind, I kinda don’t have anything else to put on.” They hadn’t really hung out by themselves in a long time and though it was already Wednesday, Niall wasn’t actually sure he had even seen Harry since they had all been at Louis’ house on Friday.

“Only Liam’s jumper?” Harry said it just like that, as if it was really obvious or something and the blonde felt his heart stop for a moment.

“Is it that noticeable?” Okay, now he was panicking, he had been wearing that jumper for at least 3 hours now and Liam had said it wouldn’t be a problem, but if Harry had literally noticed with one single look…

“No, don’t worry about it, it just looks a bit big on you. I doubt anyone else would notice.” The other boy shrugged, suddenly opening his backpack to pull out an umbrella, handing it to Niall before the blonde had managed to fully calm himself down about the clothing situation. “Here, my car is like, at the very end of the parking lot.”

“Thanks… how come you have a raincoat AND an umbrella?” Niall laughed a bit as he opened Harry’s umbrella as they stepped out into the rain, the blonde trying not to shiver too much because it had definitely gotten cold. 

“I’m just prepared, unlike other people.” Harry joked, laughing when Niall rolled his eyes, still pretty thankful for that umbrella though because getting wet would have only made him feel even colder than he already was. “Nah, my mom still thinks I’m 5 years old or something, so she made me bring both actually. She also tried to make me bring gloves but I managed to talk her out of it.”

“I don’t even own gloves I think.” It was supposed to be a joke, but while laughing over it, Niall realized that it was actually the truth. Then again, his parents had also never bought him a hat or a scarf as a child, so maybe that explained why he wasn’t even considering these things as an adult. “Are you not hanging out with Louis today?”

“No, he still has something to do at uni and then he’s gotta meet someone at the library to do a presentation together I think.” He shrugged as if it wasn’t a big deal and Niall felt a bit jealous, that Harry and Louis were able to see each other so much that one afternoon apart didn’t really matter. “Are you seeing Liam today?”

“Um, I don’t know yet, we both have uni stuff to do and I don’t know if my brother’s home or anything, so… “ Niall shrugged, not really enjoying that topic because he was actually pretty sure the only time he’d still get to see Liam today was on his phone screen. 

“I still can’t get over the fact that you’re really dating and that I was right the whole time.” Harry didn’t sound bitter when he said it, unlocking his car in the meantime, but Niall still felt another wave of guilt hitting him. Pretty sure that wasn’t ever going to go away. “If I had known you had a crush on him for this long I could have introduced you way sooner, you know.”

“Is there anything Louis didn’t tell you?” Though Niall tried to sound annoyed as he got into the car, making sure to keep the wet umbrella down by his feet, Harry just chuckled as he got into the driver’s side, throwing his backpack onto the back seat and his phone in between them. 

“No, he tells me everything. He also told me you might try to rat him out to me one day for saying he thinks Liam is good looking.” That seemed to amuse Harry even more and Niall tried to join but in reality he was slightly pissed off that now he’d never be able to use that empty threat again to make Louis shut up about his boyfriend. 

“I was just joking when I said that, everyone knows I’ve got the best looking boyfriend anyways.” Okay, maybe Niall was a little bit embarrassed saying that, but he also felt quite proud as he put on his seatbelt, trying not to think about Liam too much though because it kinda made him miss him.

“Awww, I’m gonna tell Liam you said that.” Almost immediately, Niall had turned his head to stare at the other boy in shock, wanting to talk him out of it because Liam would have had a right laugh with it, but Harry was a lot quicker anyways. “I’m just kidding, I won’t say anything. But I’m sure he’d be happy to hear it though.”

“He’d just make me tell him in person again and then laugh his head off.” It’s not like Niall had never told Liam though, or the other way around, but coming from Harry would have probably been a bit different. “Do you still know where I live?”

“’course I do. I was really afraid you’d think I’m a real stalker when I first drove you home.” Well, to be fair, Niall had kinda been thinking that back then, but it already seemed ages in the past now. 

“I mean, maybe a little b-“

Niall kinda got cut off by Harry’s phone going off and he thought they’d just ignore it or Harry would pull over, but it seemed the boy had other plans. “Oh, can you maybe get that?”

“Um, okay?” The blonde felt a bit weird reaching for Harry’s phone, hoping it was Louis so he could have answered it without making it strange, but sadly, it wasn’t. “It’s your mom though.”

“Can you just put her on speaker?” Harry didn’t seem to think anything of it, so the blonde just did it without spending too many thoughts on it, making sure to hold the phone somehow towards Harry so that he could hear his mother better. “Hi, mom, I’m in the car right now.”

“You’re not holding the phone though, are you, love?” Niall had never met Harry’s mother, but she sounded quite nice if it was possible to tell from only one sentence.

“No, no, I’m just driving Niall home, he’s holding it for me.” Apparently Harry told his mother about Niall or something because she seemed rather delighted to hear that. 

“Oh, Louis’ friend, yeah?” She said Louis’ name like she said it all the time and again, Niall felt a pinch of jealousy, that these two could be so openly together and in love and even tell their parents about it who then actually supported them. Kinda sounded like a fantasy.

“Yeah, exactly. Um, did you need anything?” Niall was really glad that Harry had just moved on because he had been a bit nervous thinking maybe he should have said hi or something, but luckily the moment had already passed. 

“I just wanted to ask when you’ll be home because I almost got lunch ready. And is Louis coming?” See, this was some real family kinda thing Niall had thought only happened in movies or something and yet here he was. 

“No, he’s still at uni, I might see him later tonight. I’ll be home in about 20 minutes though, just gotta drop off Niall.” They were actually already close to the blonde’s house and Niall was thinking what he himself was going to eat today. 

“Oh, you should bring Niall then, I made way too much and I never met him.” Well, that was a little bit of a turn of events.

“Sure, I don’t know if he has other plans though… Niall?” Harry couldn’t actually look at the blonde because he was driving, for which Niall was pretty glad because this had definitely come out of nowhere. He was pretty sure Louis wouldn’t have had anything against this and neither did Liam and also Harry seemed completely okay with the idea, plus… Niall wasn’t even sure if they had food at home or not and also, he was done with the lying, right?

“Um, I don’t… I don’t really have any plans, I-“

“Oh, great, then you’re welcome to join, love.” Harry’s mother kind of interrupted Niall, but she sounded so happy about it and so cheerful that the blonde wouldn’t have known how to talk himself out of it. 

“Thank you.” Was all Niall was able to think of saying and before he could have continued, the other boy was already talking to his mother again.

“Okay, then I’ll just turn around and we’ll be there in ten minutes or so.” Harry didn’t seem to mind Niall coming along either, or maybe he was just pretending in front of his mom but it’s not like Niall could have still said no, right? Also… he kinda didn’t want to say no because he was pretty damn sure there was no food at home anyways. 

Niall made sure to hang up the phone as soon as they had said goodbye to each other, keeping it in his hands though because he wasn’t quite sure where to put it instead. “Do you mind if I come to your house?”

“No, why would I mind that?” Harry sounded confused, he had already turned the car around, playing with the channel of his radio while the blonde tried to come to terms with this situation. Maybe it was weird, because he and Harry only knew each other because of Louis and they had barely hung out by themselves, but then again, they had spent a lot of time together because of the people they were dating.

Then again, Niall didn’t know how he’d feel about Louis hanging out with Liam all by himself, but not really because he didn’t trust them but rather because one, no one was allowed to know that they knew each other and two, if Liam had free time to hang out with somebody, Niall wanted to be the one he hung out with obviously.

“I don’t know, I mean… maybe you think it’s weird.” The blonde shrugged, suddenly feeling kind of stupid for all of this, so he made sure to text Liam about it because it was just a habit of his to tell his boyfriend pretty much everything. 

“Why? I mean, we’re friends and you’ve never been to my house except that one time you were at my party but that doesn’t really count anyways.” See, Harry made it sound as if this had been long overdue, as if they were best friends or something, and it did make Niall feel a bit less nervous about it. 

“I’d invite you round to mine sometime, but… you probably wouldn’t enjoy it very much.” Also, it’d be like playing with fire to bring Harry home and risk his brother seeing him or his dad suddenly remembering who he was and just… no thank you. 

“Don’t worry, if I ever saw your dad, I’d make sure to tell him I actually hate Liam.” It kinda sounded like a joke but Niall still appreciated it. 

While they were driving, Niall tried to memorize the way to Harry’s house in daylight, but once they got out of the car, the blonde would have again had no idea how he would have gotten home from here, so he was kinda hoping the other boy would offer to drive him home later.

“Isn’t this where you first talked to Liam?” Harry asked while they were walking up to his front door, pointing to the bushes growing next to the porch.

“Um, yeah. Did he seriously tell you that?” God, this was kinda embarrassing, plus Niall suddenly had major flashbacks from that night, not even wanting to imagine what would have happened if he hadn’t allowed Louis to convince him to come to that party.

“Yeah, but only because I asked. But he does enjoy talking about you, in case you wanted to know.” Before Niall could really ask what that was supposed to mean, Harry had already unlocked the front door, walking inside so the blonde made sure to follow, again feeling slightly nervous. “Hi, mum.”

The other boy had just called out into the house, taking his shoes off while Niall made sure to close the door behind himself and take his shoes off as well. It was kinda weird being here again, with no other people and during the day with the intention of eating lunch with Harry and his mom. If somebody had told Niall he would be doing this back when Harry and Louis had first gotten together, the blonde wouldn’t have actually believed it. 

“Oh, you’re already here. How was uni?” Niall had never seen Harry’s mom, but he did see the similarity as they walked into the kitchen, the blonde a bit behind Harry because he wasn’t used to meeting anybody’s parents. 

“It was good, do you need some help with that?” They seemed to get along well and honestly, Niall suddenly felt weird if he thought about his relationship with his own mother, they would have never even gotten into a situation like this in their entire lives.

“No, I’m good, thanks, love. And you must be Niall?” When she turned to the blonde she was smiling and Niall hated himself for having waited so long to introduce himself that the right moment had already passed.

“Yeah, sorry, I… nice to meet you.” Just to try and do some damage control, Niall immediately stretched out his hand to shake hers, attempting a smile but he wasn’t too sure if it maybe looked slightly forced. 

“You’re Louis’ friend, right? And Liam’s boyfriend?” The way she said it put Niall a bit at ease, he didn’t at all mind that Harry had told his mother about him and Liam, especially because she genuinely seemed to be happy about it. Niall was still a bit surprise though so he just nodded, not really knowing what to say. “Such lovely boys. And I’m so glad I finally get to meet you as well, Harry told me so much about you.”

“Really?” Niall couldn’t help but ask, making the other two laugh but the thing was, he actually genuinely couldn’t believe that. 

“Only good things, don’t worry.” Harry softly patted his back as he walked past Niall to get to the fridge. “You want anything to drink?”

“Uh, sure, yeah, thank you.” This was so strange, Niall had eaten dinner at Louis’ house before, but it was different because he had so many small siblings and stuff, but here it was literally just Harry and his mom and they seemed to get along so well and everything as if they always ate together. Actually, they probably did.

Harry’s mom had made pasta and Niall didn’t actually dare saying that he had never eaten self made pasta before, but it was true anyways and once they were all eating, he was definitely really happy that he had agreed to come. Otherwise he would have been at home right now, possibly by himself, thinking about whether he really wanted to spend money ordering food or if he’d have the energy to go to the store.

Harry and his mom talked about a bunch of things, she wanted to know what Louis was doing, what kinda classes Harry had had, when he’d have work again and if he’d be home in the evening. Niall mostly listened, but Harry’s mom did ask him questions as well, mostly about uni and his work and luckily not about his family because that would have possibly ended in a disaster. Plus, if Harry had known about Niall and Liam’s family fight all along, maybe his mother did as well.

It was just when they suddenly talked about Harry’s sister visiting that the blonde spoke up by himself, more out of surprise though. “I didn’t know you had a sister.”

“Yeah, she goes to uni somewhere else, she didn’t wanna move with us.” Harry explained, only confusing the blonde even more though.

“Wait, I thought you always lived here as well?” Hadn’t he said that? Or Louis? Or maybe they hadn’t and Niall had simply assumed or something.

“No, we only moved here when I was like, um… 12?” He looked at his mother for confirmation there and she did nod, but Niall couldn’t help but notice that she somehow didn’t seem to enjoy that topic very much for whatever reason. “I kinda met Liam on the very first day of high school, when he wasn’t the cool popular kid yet. Kinda funny how things turned out in the end.”

“Yeah… “ It really was somehow, Niall kinda wanted to ask where Harry had lived before, but seeing as that conversation apparently wasn’t Harry’s mother’s favorite, the blonde decided not to. Or at least only ask Harry once they were alon again, like, not that Niall planned on hanging out after lunch, but he was definitely still hoping Harry would offer to drive him home.

They changed the topic then after Harry’s mother made them all eat yet another portion, which Niall didn’t decline of course because he wasn’t planning on making himself something to eat in the evening. Maybe he’d get to hang out with Liam after all, which didn’t seem very likely, but just hearing Harry talk about Louis possibly coming over at night made the blonde more jealous than he would have ever admitted. 

After they had eaten, Niall helped cleaning up because Harry did the same and he actually didn’t mind doing it at all even if Harry’s mother told him he didn’t need to help, it would have kinda been rude not to though. 

“Um, do you mind if I use the bathroom?” Niall had no idea where it was, not having remembered from the party, so Harry made sure to show him after they were done with the dishes.

The blonde could have probably waited to pee once he was home, but he didn’t know yet whether Harry would drive him or not, so he just wanted to be on the safe side. Liam had texted back in the meantime, just telling Niall that he shouldn’t feel weird about it or be nervous because Harry’s mom was nice, and then he had ended the message with about 10 hearts, which probably meant that they weren’t going to see each other tonight. At least not in real life.

Walking back to the kitchen, Niall couldn’t help but stop at the family pictures on the wall in the hallway, thinking about how much fun Louis had probably had staring at Harry’s baby pictures because they were definitely cute. There were only pictures of Harry and his sister, sometimes his mother, but never a dad or so and Niall had never thought about it in depth, but it actually seemed like he and his mother lived here all by themselves.

“Louis always likes to point out how much of a chubby baby I was.” Harry’s voice made the blonde flinch a bit before he laughed because that definitely sounded a lot like Louis. 

“He’d probably say the same about me if my parents had ever taken any pictures of me as a child.” It was true, there were a few pictures, but only once Niall had started going to school because even back then his parents had probably not been that interested in him because there definitely were pictures of Greg somewhere in an album. 

“You seriously got no pictures of yourself?” The other boy didn’t take that with as much humor as the blonde so Niall just shrugged because to him it was just normal anyways. “That’s strange.”

“Yeah, maybe I’m secretly adopted or something, I wouldn’t at all mind.” Then again, it’s not like that would have changed anything, right? Niall was already 20 years old anyways, he could have gone wherever he pleased if he had had the money. “I think I should probably go home now.”

“Or you stay and we’ll do some homework together.” Okay, this had come a little bit out of nowhere, but Harry seemed to genuinely mean it because he was smiling at the blonde and before Niall could have asked, the other boy was already explaining himself. “Just because I’m better at doing homework when somebody else is there as well, it’s more motivating and neither Louis nor Liam seem to have time for us anyways.”

“True… I mean, I don’t have a lot of homework, but… we can do that, if you want.” Niall actually didn’t mind, plus Harry seemed to really want him to stay, so like… why not, right? It’s not like anybody was waiting for the blonde to get back home or anything. 

“Trust me, you’ll soon realize you made the right choice once my mom starts bringing us snacks and cake.” Honestly, Niall wasn’t even too surprised to hear that.

It was kinda nice to spend time with Harry, he didn’t always try to start a conversation while they were both doing homework like Louis would have and he obviously wasn’t distracting Niall just with his looks like Liam would have, so they somehow seemed to work nicely next to one another.

Also, Harry hadn’t been lying about his mother bringing them snacks, because she actually did that more than just once, even offering to bake them something and to say Niall felt like he was in some sorta family movie was a bit of an understatement. He helped Harry with his homework once he was done with his own and by the time they were both finished, Harry got his laptop to show the blonde a random video and they somehow got stuck doing that for a while longer.

In the end, Niall had probably spent 4 or more hours at Harry’s house before the other boy drove him home and the blonde didn’t feel all too upset when Liam told him that they could only FaceTime that night. Somehow, Niall was really glad afterwards that he had agreed to go to Harry’s house and stayed with him for a few hours, just because the only people he ever really hung out with were Liam and Louis, but it was nice to know that if anything was up, there was a third person the blonde could count on.

 

\---------------

 

Things were really good for a while, for two weeks or something, Liam’s parents went on more business trips and they got the house to themselves again, which they of course used to their advantage, and though they barely spent time at Niall’s, it was fine because the blonde didn’t mind where they were hanging out anyways. As long as they were together, everything was fine.

Niall also went to Harry’s house again because apparently Harry’s mom had told Harry he needed to bring the blonde over for lunch and so they did that. Louis was of course completely thrilled and even Liam seemed happy about that development, which Niall didn’t really understand all too much but it’s not like it really mattered in the end. Maybe they had both been thinking he needed some more friends to hang out with or something. 

“You know what I’ve been thinking?” Liam kinda startled Niall a little bit, they were just lying on his bed, the blonde on top of the older boy while Liam was drawing patterns onto his bare back, almost having lulled him to sleep.

“Hm, what?” They had just had the most mind blowing sex ever and Niall felt really sleepy and a bit exhausted but at the same time all happy and just comfortable all around.

“We should like, go somewhere.” That was very vague, Niall would have maybe lifted his head to look at his boyfriend and get some explanation, but instead he just tried to reach the blanket which he failed quite terribly at so Liam made sure to cover both of them in the end. 

“Where?” Also, did he mean right now, or… ?

“I don’t know, wherever you wanna go. Maybe we should ask Louis and Harry as well, as alibi kind of, if anybody asks who each of us went with.” Okay, so luckily he didn’t mean right at this second, that was a very huge relief to the blonde, so he allowed himself to let his eyes drop closed again, snuggling deeper into his boyfriend and breathing him in while he thought about what he had said.

“Like a vacation?” It kinda sounded like that’s what Liam had been talking about, which was slightly more problematic than Niall would have liked to think about. He had never been on vacation and Liam knew that, so the blonde felt a bit bad for assuming Liam was going to pay in case they really did that, but then again, Liam was his boyfriend and he very obviously enjoyed spending money on Niall. Plus, it had been his idea and he knew Niall was broke.

“Yeah… it’d be nice, right? And we could actually go outside and not be afraid of anybody seeing us together.” Right, so that sounded like the real reason Liam wanted to go and honestly, that idea did sound very nice in Niall’s head as well all of a sudden. 

Though things had been great lately, the longer they were hiding their relationship and had to be sneaky, the more did it take a toll on them. In the beginning they had both needed time to adjust and get used to it, and yeah, maybe it had sometimes been a little bit exciting, but they had very quickly fallen into a routine that consisted of them praying that either of them would get the house to themselves so they could be together. 

“Yeah, I’d like that… but if we do that, we should go somewhere both of us wanna go and not just me. I mean, you know a lot more places than me, maybe you should decide instead.” Niall would have probably enjoyed anywhere if he was being completely honest with himself here, just being with Liam and maybe even get to hold his hand in public would have already been enough for the blonde to call it a vacation.

“Hmm… I’ll think about it. And I’ll talk to Harry about it, unless you wanna do that.” He said it all casual and stuff, but it did make the blonde listen up because he was definitely not closer to Harry than Liam. 

“You should, I was only twice at his house for lunch.” Well, in total probably 8 or 9 hours, which Liam knew about of course, but that didn’t compare to him knowing Harry since they had been 12 or something. 

“But you left an impression, Harry told me that his mom keeps talking about you and that she always keeps telling him he needs to invite you back around to the house.” Liam’s body was vibrating a bit underneath the younger boy’s as he chuckled softly and Niall wasn’t actually sure if he believed what his boyfriend had just told him. 

“Harry should invite all of us over so that we won’t have to wait for your parents to go on a business trip anymore.” Though it was a little bit of a joke, Niall kinda regretted saying it once it was out because it had definitely sounded slightly bitter or maybe even sad and that’s not at all what he had been wanting the mood to switch to.

“Yeah… I’m also afraid that this was their last one for a while, it’s why I thought about us going somewhere for a few days, maybe the week we’ve got no uni.” That was literally almost around the corner, so that made Niall’s heart bump a bit faster because just the thought of getting to spend a whole fucking week being glued to his boyfriend’s side and basically never having to stop touching him seemed way too good to actually be true. 

“I’d go anywhere with you.” Niall said it without thinking about how sappy it actually sounded, but then there was no way for him to take it back anymore and he kinda decided that he liked the sound of it because it was true after all.

“Me too… “ Liam answered after a moment, holding the blonde a bit tighter and kissing the top of his head before breathing out against his skin, sending even more shivers down his spine. “I love you.”

“I love you too, Li.” The blonde had lost count of how many times they had told each other that by now, but he considered that to be a good thing and it’s not like they were just mindlessly throwing those words around, it always felt really special and it still caused Niall’s heart to speed up about fifty billion times. “Kinda funny if I think about just a few months ago I was staring at you thinking you hated me and now we’re planning on going on vacation and stuff… “

“It honestly feels like a lot longer though, doesn’t it? I mean, I can still remember the first time we ever talked really clearly of course, but it still feels like we’ve been dating for a year or something.” That was true actually, Niall felt exactly the same way, he was just so comfortable with Liam and he knew that he could trust the boy with anything at all and it was the best feeling in the whole world.

“Are you already growing tired of me then?” Niall joked, making Liam snort as he petted the younger’s back softly.

“Yeah, sorry, I didn’t know how else to tell you.” Of course he had been bound to say something like that and maybe the blonde would have pretended to be pouting if he hadn’t been way too comfortable just lying here like this. “Before I break up with you in a second though, you’re staying the night, right?”

“Li, it’s like 2 in the morning and I’m completely naked, why on earth would I wanna go home now?” Seriously, when had Niall ever gone home if he hadn’t absolutely needed to? “When are your parents coming home?”

“Um, I don’t really know. Sometime tomorrow, but I’m pretty sure they’ll only come home in the afternoon, so we’ve got time.” That didn’t sound all too promising like last time where his parents had literally been gone for three days, but Niall couldn’t be picky, he needed to enjoy every single minute he got to spend with his boyfriend. “Do you wanna go to sleep?”

“Hmmm, I feel kinda sticky, but I think I’d rather just shower in the morning.” Then again, Niall would probably have to get up again anyways to brush his teeth and just the thought made him wanna groan. Liam was just too damn comfortable and warm.

“We’ve never had shower sex before, maybe we should try that.” Liam said it with a really serious voice and Niall would have maybe blushed a while ago, but not anymore. 

“Maybe we should, we also never tried any of your secret kinks you’ve been hinting at the first time we had sex.” Also, Liam had never actually eaten Niall out either and the blonde would sometimes think about it but then in the end, he never brought it up because once they were already in the moment, he completely forgot about it again. 

“You know I was just joking about that, right?” The brunette sounded both amused but maybe also a little bit concerned that Niall had gone two weeks thinking he was into some weird things in bed. 

“Were you also joking about the other thing?” Just to make sure, maybe Niall sounded kind of desperate because it made Liam laugh, but he was way too tired to actually care about that right now. 

“Do you really want me to rim you this badly?” There, he had said it, making Niall’s cheeks go hot but at the same time the blonde also felt a little bit excited. He wasn’t in the mood to do anything now after they had just gotten done but it was good if Liam knew, for future references. 

“You were the one suggesting it.” Niall defended himself, moving a bit on top of the older boy to get into a more comfortable position, keeping his eyes closed though because there was no reason to open them really. 

“I know, but you keep dropping not so subtle hints, like a week ago when we had sex and you-“

“Well, then maybe you should do something about that, Liam, I mean, do I have to spell every sex thing I wanna try out to you?” Last week, Niall had maybe wanted it a little bit, but he hadn’t said anything, just kinda hoped Liam was going to go for it, but then he had told Niall to turn onto his back so they could look at each other and that had been that. 

“Jesus, I didn’t know you were this desperate for my tongue.” Right, so Liam was having a right laugh with that and Niall would have rolled his eyes to himself had it not required him to open them first. “Just remind me next time, I-“

“Um, _remind_ you? Do you want me to write you a post-it note as well and put it on your locker or something? Hey, babe, don’t forget to brush your teeth, you promised to eat my ass tonight?” To be fair, Niall almost started laughing himself when he said that, so he wasn’t too upset with Liam for just bursting out with laughter, his body shaking underneath the younger boy’s as he held him tightly so he wouldn’t move off of him. “Or I could just ask Louis to tell Harry to remind you at uni or why don’t I write you an Email a-“

“Okay, okay, I got it, baby. No need to get so grumpy, yeah? I think you need to go to sleep.” Liam was still chuckling, brushing his fingers through Niall’s hair and the blonde felt it everywhere on his skin. 

“Don’t patronize me… “ Niall mumbled, but it had just been a joke of course because going to sleep really did sound nice.

“But I’m having so much fun doing it.” The blonde just huffed in response to that, receiving a kiss on the head in return. “Can you look at me for a second though?”

Without answering, Niall just sighed a little overdramatically for fun before lifting his head, trying to look down at his boyfriend without smiling but it was pretty damn hard when he saw Liam smirking at him, knowing exactly what it was that he wanted. So Niall simply leaned down to kiss the brunette on the lips, lingering a bit longer than anticipated, their lips still brushing as he half whispered. “I love you.”

“I love you too, baby.”

 

\---------------------

 

“Ni? Niall, you gotta wake up, c’mon.” Liam’s voice waking Niall wasn’t an unusual thing to happen, but usually he did it in combination with kisses and while running his fingers through the blonde’s hair instead of shaking his shoulder in a not so gentle manner. “Niall.”

“Hm, what?” The blonde slowly blinked his eyes open, rubbing them before looking at his boyfriend just to see him fully dressed in a shirt and sweatpants, his face panicked in the lit room that kinda hurt Niall’s eyes. “What are y-“

“My parents got back earlier.” Almost immediately, Niall had pushed himself into a sitting position, his head spinning and his eyes hurting from the light and he still felt half asleep but what Liam had just said was causing his heart to speed up almost painfully fast. “I just woke up before because I heard them talking and… I gotta go downstairs, I don’t know if they’ll come up here.”

“What… what am I supposed to do?” They were half whispering and Niall made sure to reach for his clothes that Liam had been holding in his hands to get dressed. No matter what they were going to do, Niall definitely did not want to be naked for it, while Liam’s parents were here and everything. Also, shit, how was he going to be able to leave if they were here?! 

“Um… get under the bed.” Liam obviously hadn’t thought this through at all, Niall already had his mouth open to protest, but the brunette quickly destroyed the suggestion the blonde had been wanting to make. “You can’t go into the bathroom because someone might go in there and there’s no space in my closet. Also I don’t know how long it’s gonna take and you’d have to stand up the whole time and-“

“Wait, you want me to lie under your bed for possibly hours?” Niall’s mouth was literally hanging open when he saw Liam’s apologetic face, barely reacting when the older boy kissed his forehead. 

“I’m sorry, I’ll just make sure to talk to them and then hint that I gotta study and stuff and I’ll come get you as soon as I think it’s safe. Maybe they’ll leave again, I… I have no idea why they are already here.” Obviously Liam hadn’t lied to Niall about when his parents would get back, this wasn’t anything to joke about, but the blonde couldn’t help but be slightly upset. Not that it was Liam’s fault or anything, it was just the situation in general.

Niall didn’t say another word, he did allow Liam to peck his mouth before putting on his pants and grabbing his phone, simply nodding when the brunette apologized again and promised that he wasn’t going to take long before Niall crawled underneath the bed. Liam also gave him a pillow, maybe to make him feel better or something, but it wasn’t really working. 

It was a huge bed and Niall had enough space, but he did feel his claustrophobia acting up at first so he made sure to close his eyes while lying there on the floor on his back, listening to Liam’s footsteps and then the door closing again, plunging the blonde into silence. Great, now he also really needed to pee. 

The blonde actually thought about simply going to sleep, but he was way too nervous and his heart was still pounding, both from having to lie underneath the bed but also in fear of getting caught. Niall would literally be dead if Liam’s parents caught him INSIDE their freaking house, like, his stuff was still in Liam’s room and what if Watson came in here and smelled the blonde?! They were screwed. 

Because the house was so huge, Niall actually didn’t hear a thing, so he kept his eyes closed and tried to sleep for a while before giving up and playing on his phone. Niall thought about texting Louis, but then he didn’t bother because it was only like 10 in the morning anyways and also, what would he have told him anyways? His friend would have probably only been teasing him for it later, in case this ended well. 

Niall had no idea how much time had really passed, at one point he almost thought about actually texting Liam to ask whether he could go to the bathroom real quick, but he never actually managed to do so because the door opened without the blonde expecting it, almost making his heart stop.

“… told you. They are my shoes, I’ve already got them since ages.” Fuck, Niall’s shoes had still been downstairs and apparently his parents had confronted him about it. Then again, it didn’t sound like they were fighting or anything.

“It’s fine, Li, I’ve just never seen them before, but you can have people over, you know that.” It was his mother, Niall also saw their feet because he had turned onto his stomach, keeping a hand over his mouth and nose so that he wouldn’t possibly make a single sound. “Just no more parties, please.”

“It was only once, mom, and I got it all cleaned up in time.” Liam’s mom didn’t sound strict at all, she sounded more amused if anything and again just like when Niall had been at Harry’s house, he couldn’t imagine ever talking like that with his own mother. Maybe Liam’s parents weren’t even that bad. “But I won’t have any parties, I promise, I was just home because I really need to study.”

“Right, well, I gotta unpack anyways. I just wanted to talk about something while your dad is still on the phone.” Somehow, Niall felt weird when he heard Liam’s bedroom door closing and Liam unmistakably sitting down on the edge of the bed. 

“Okay?” The brunette sounded as clueless as Niall felt, internally praying that this was going to go over as quickly as possible because he really didn’t wanna piss himself. 

“You know whose birthday it is next week, right?” What?

“Yeah? Why do you wanna talk about that?” Whose birthday was it? And why was Niall suddenly feeling his stomach drop?

“Liam, she’s a really nice girl, I always liked her from the moment you first brought her home. I’m just saying, if you wanna invite her over or something… we could also ask her parents, it’d be nice.” Um, what the hell?! What kinda girls was Liam bringing home?!

“I don’t wanna invite her or her family, we broke up ages ago and-“

“And then you got back together as well and I just think you were always so cute together. Remember when we all went on vacation with her family? It was so nice and we all got along so well and you know her father has invested a lot in the business.” Niall literally couldn’t believe his ears right now, he was just listening with his mouth dropped and both anger and disappointment filling up in his stomach. Sure, Liam was talking to his mother as if he wasn’t even interested in any girl, but he also knew that Niall was literally underneath his bed right now, hearing every single word. 

“I know, mom, but we haven’t seen each other in ages and we broke up, it’d be weird.” Okay, so that was Liam’s only fucking argument? They hadn’t seen each other in ages and it’d be _weird_?! 

“Didn’t you tell me you were talking to her last week? I’m sure you’d have a lot talk to about anyways, I mean, you’ve got a lot to catch up on and before you broke up I already kinda had your wedding planned in my head, she was here so often she might have as well moved in.” She stopped to laugh and Liam didn’t interject while Niall suddenly wasn’t sure anymore if he wanted to cry. What kinda ex-girlfriends had Liam been talking to last fucking week?! Apparently one that he had almost fucking asked to marry him. “Anyways, it’d mean a lot to your dad if you at least tried, a business partner would really be good for him and there’s no one else who’d come into question.” 

Niall was so, SO, close to just crawling out from underneath that bed and just walking out of the room and maybe also the house, but then Liam himself somehow made it even worse, maybe with good intentions, but it simply backfired quite terribly. “He could make up with the Hora-“

“Liam, please, don’t even start. I wouldn’t want to be associated with that family ever again and neither does your father, they’re psychopaths.” What the hell?!

“That’s, um, a bit harsh.” A BIT?! 

“I’m being serious and I don’t mean this in a joking way at all, I’d be afraid to be alone with them, I wish we would have moved away back when all of this was just happening, but maybe it’s good if we keep an eye on them… “ She broke off after that, maybe at a loss of words, just like Niall. This couldn’t be happening, no fucking way.

“Why would you wanna keep an eye on them?” Liam asked the question of all questions, probably only so Niall knew that he hadn’t been lying when he had said he had had no idea what had happened between their parents, but honestly, it was too late for Liam to still try and do damage control. “I mean, you just had a fight with them, right?”

“It wasn’t only one fight and I’m not even sure if you could call it that. I really don’t wanna get into it, just know I almost had a heart attack when I found out you were in the same middle school as their younger boy.” What? Had Niall simply forgotten about that or something?

“You pulled me out of school because of Niall Horan and you never told me?” So they had been in the same fucking school and Liam’s parents had pulled their son out because they hated Niall’s parents this extremely much? Wow, that was a whole other level of commitment.

“You were a child then, Li, what was I supposed to tell you?” This was getting ridiculous, Niall had known that Liam’s parents hated his family, but having to hear his mother talk like that while Liam wasn’t even ATTEMPTING to defend the blonde or his family… 

“You’re not telling me anything now either.” Not like it still mattered, right? 

“It’s in the past, you’re all grown up, it doesn’t affect us anymore and it’s done for good. You’re not having any contact with either of those boys, right?” She suddenly sounded worried and Niall held his breath as he waited for Liam’s answer, waiting if he was somehow going to at least try and make up for everything that had just happened, but he only made it worse.

“No, I… I’d never.” Asshole, he even sounded as disgusted as his mother probably felt whenever she thought about Niall’s family.

“Good. I’m gonna let you study now. Make sure you don’t have anything planned for Wednesday, okay?” And with that and not a single word of protest from Liam, his mother seemed to leave the room because Niall heard the door open and then close, plunging them into a brief moment of silence.

Niall was trying so damn hard to fight back tears, but he simply couldn’t anymore, he was so fucking angry at Liam right now and even more disappointed and hurt that he almost let a pathetic sob escape when the older boy spoke up. “I’m sorry, baby, I can explain everything.”

Without answering, Niall simply crawled out from under the bed, feeling Liam’s hand momentarily trying to grab a hold of his wrist before he slipped off when the blonde walked into the bathroom, locking himself inside so he could cry in peace. This was hell, he couldn’t leave, he couldn’t go anywhere at all, he’d have to sit in here while Liam was knocking on the door, half whispering that he was sorry and that Niall should let him in. 

So much about planning on going on vacation together last night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I knew you all saw it coming and here it is, the drama! at least part 1 of it ;) 
> 
> im very much looking forward to reading you guys theories if you have any, now that i planned the fic out in my head i can finally drop hints to what really went down between the paynes and horans haha (and there are at least 3 in just that one chapter!)
> 
> love you guys, thanks for all the feedback <33


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi everyone! early update because ao3 will be down for 3 hours i think and in case any of you want to read the chapter before that make sure to download it or something so you wont have to stop in the middle!

Niall stayed in Liam’s bathroom for probably an hour, completely ignoring whatever the brunette was saying behind the door, because right now, it really did not matter to Niall. He knew what he had heard and he knew that Liam’s mother surely had not made up those things about his ex-girlfriend, because why would she have done that, in a conversation with Liam? Plus, the brunette hadn’t denied talking to her last week or them being together for so long that their parents were thinking about marriage, which was fucking ridiculous because what the hell? 

If Liam had wanted Niall to know about that, he would have told him, so that clearly told the blonde that there was something going on and he didn’t have the nerves to hear Liam trying to talk himself out of it. Right now, Niall just wanted to cry and be by himself and be disappointed and hurt, but also angry.

Now that he thought about it, it wasn’t only the thing with his ex-girlfriend that bothered him, also the fact that Liam had actually been the one to bring up Niall’s family, not even ATTEMPTING to _pretend_ that he didn’t agree with his mother. Like literally, he had even told her he’d NEVER think about talking to Niall even though his mother hadn’t even asked him, he could have just said no?!

Liam did give up knocking on the door and talking through it after a while, bombing the blonde with text messages instead but Niall simply turned off his phone signal because he didn’t even wanna read anything Liam had to say right now. What if every rumor about Liam was true? What if he talked to all of his ex-girlfriends and ex-boyfriends and Niall was just one out of many? 

When the brunette knocked on the door again after an hour, much louder this time, Niall flinched terribly, wiping his wet face once more because he seemed to have run out of tears anyways. “Baby… my parents are gone again, but they’ll be back in an hour or so.”

Niall hesitated for 2 seconds before pushing himself into a sitting position, trying not to think about whether Liam was lying or not as he simply stood up and unlocked the door. He definitely wasn’t doing it for Liam, he just wanted to get the hell out of here while he still could.

“Niall… please, can I explain? Did you hear anything I said or… or read the texts I sent you?” Liam sounded desperate, he had clearly been surprised by Niall coming out of his bathroom but the blonde hadn’t even spared him a look, he just went around the room collecting his things, ignoring Watson wanting to petted. “Niall, baby, I’m so sorry you-“

“You can spare your breath, Liam, I’m not going to stay here and discuss this with you while your parents are on their way back. I gotta get back to my psycho family, but hey, maybe your girlfriend would like to come over instead and listen to your lies.” The blonde couldn’t help it, he was so worked up, he just wanted to leave.

“What was I supposed to tell my mom?! I don’t think your family is psycho, I don’t even know them, would you defend _my_ family in front of your parents?! It makes no sense for us to do that, we have to hide it and you know it! I just brought it up because I thought maybe there actually is a way to sort this whole mess out, maybe she’d finally tell me what actually happened or something, I’m sorry if that upset you, but what was I supposed to say?” Liam was following Niall through the house as the blonde simply walked downstairs, realizing that he had forgotten his jacket but he was definitely NOT going back into that room. 

“I love how you’re just ignoring the fact that you texted your ex last week and that your mom is going to invite her and her entire family and try to hook you back up with her because she wants you to get married. And maybe you can take her on the vacation you were talking about last night instead, wouldn’t be the first time, right?” Niall was already putting on his shoes, just glad that Liam wasn’t trying to stop him or anything because the last thing Niall wanted right now was to be touched.

“That was AGES ago, we broke up, there’s nothing going on anymore, you cannot be mad at me for relationships I had _years_ before I knew you. I never even texted her last week, my mom keeps asking about her so I sometimes make up that we still talk, I can show you my messages with her, the last one is from two bloody years ago!” Liam was yelling through the whole house while Niall simply walked through the rooms with his shoes on because he couldn’t leave through the front door because of the neighbors. Fuck all of this bullshit.

“Mhm, right, just show me the chat with her that you just had a whole hour to delete messages from. And who even tells me that that’s the right girl anyways? Seeing as you have so many ex-girlfriends to choose from.” This was low, Niall knew it but he was angry and he didn’t care anymore, he just wanted to get home and cry in peace because his tears were already on the verge of spilling over again. 

“You calling me a fuckboy now?” Yeah, maybe he was, who knew?

“Well, everyone else says you are, gotta come from somewhere, right?” For the first time, Niall actually looked Liam dead in the eye, his hand already on the door handle to the garden and he could feel the tears and a sob building up as he was staring Liam right in the face, seeing it fall after the younger’s words. “If you were talking to your ex that’s fine, it’s just the fact that you were keeping all of this a secret that makes you look real fucking guilty. I actually fucking trusted you.”

“Niall, I’m sorry I didn’t defend your family, I didn’t wanna risk exposing us and I don’t talk to any of my exes, I’d never do anything to hurt you. I just want _you_ and nobody else, please, let’s just talk it out, I don’t wanna lose you.” The worst part was, Liam sounded so genuine and his eyes were getting teary as well when Niall simply ignored his request and opened the door, almost shivering as the cold air hit him because he had no jacket on. “You’re the best fucking thing in my life, Niall, I love you, I’d never go behind your back a-“

“But you did.” Niall simply cut him off, not looking at him anymore but actually having to force himself to walk out of the house, knowing Liam couldn’t follow or yell after him because of the neighbors and possibly any security cameras, so the blonde simply left, already crying after like 3 steps even though he told himself to be strong.

It took Niall over an hour to get home and by the time he did, he was so cold he had to be in the shower for at least 10 minutes to warm up again, which was kinda convenient because at least he was able to cry in there without anybody disturbing him. The blonde’s whole world had just come crushing down and he honestly didn’t know how he was supposed to go to work later or how to get up tomorrow morning and keep on living, he had trusted Liam 100% and he loved him more than anything… how could he have been so bloody wrong about him?

 

\-------------------

 

“Hi, Nialler… where are you?” Louis sounded concerned after Niall had given himself a push and finally picked up the phone, having had to clear his throat like fifty times before though. So now his throat was hurting so bad every single word felt like a knife stabbing him.

“At home.” Was all the blonde said, he was just so done with everything, he was sick and he felt like absolute shit since two days of having ignored every single message and call from Liam. Niall was just so hurt and disappointed, he felt as if he wouldn’t have been able to even try and get dressed at this point. “I’m sick.”

“Why aren’t you talking to Liam?” Of course Louis knew about it, he had already known about it a few hours after Niall had left Liam’s house, because Liam had told Harry and then the rest was of course obvious. Fuck all of this, Niall didn’t wanna speak to anyone about this, he didn’t even wanna THINK about it. 

“If you say his name one more time I’m gonna ignore your calls and texts as well.” Niall was being dead serious about this, he didn’t care about Harry and Louis trying to talk him into talking to Liam, they only knew the brunette’s version of things after all.

“Jesus, Niall, you need to at least listen to what he has to say, you can still be mad at him after that.” Niall already knew what Liam had to say so where was the bloody point if he was just lying?! 

“Okay, so if Harry talks to his ex that his mom wanted him to marry and then invites her and her entire family over for her birthday without planning on ever telling you, would you just talk it out with him and ignore it? Oh and I forgot, what if he also purposely brings up your family so that he and his mother can trash talk them?” Because that’s everything Liam had done, wasn’t it? No matter how many fucking times Niall had tried to twist it around in his head.

“He never talked to her though, I confronted him about it, it’s not true. And his mom also didn’t end up inviting her because he talked her out of it a-“

“How nice of him. Anyways, I have a headache and a fever, I’m gonna go to sleep.” Niall was seriously two seconds from hanging up the phone, he was just so exhausted and also, he felt the tears coming again even though he had thought he was done with that. 

“Wait, no, Niall, please, just… “ Louis moved in the background, maybe also talked to someone, Niall just rolled his eyes to himself, lying back down so he’d be ready to try and sleep as soon as Louis left him alone. “If I hand the phone to Liam right n-“

“I’m gonna hang up, I swear to god, Lou. You’re _my_ best friend, if you do this… “ Then nothing, probably, Niall would just hang up the phone and be mad at Louis as well. 

“Okay, okay, it’s just… he’s over there with Harry and like… I know he tried calling you right before I called and he saw that you picked up and-“

“Good.” What was Liam thinking? That Niall was just gonna answer his call and chat with him after two days of ignoring him?

“He’s not doing well, Ni, he-“

“Okay, what the fuck, Lou? It’s not my fucking fault, okay? HE went behind my back, it was all him, I didn’t do anything and now you’re on his side or what?! I’ve got a fever and a headache because I had to walk home from his house without a jacket and then go to work until 1 in the morning, I’ve been crying since two days, I can’t fucking sleep anymore and all you care about is Liam not feeling well after he LIED to me and possibly cheated on me?!” Okay, that was going too far, but Niall had had two days to think this all through and he was starting to come up with the craziest theories, one worse than the other.

“l-“

“You know what? Fuck you.” And with that, Niall simply hung up the phone the moment his tears were spilling over once more. The blonde was just so done with everything, his boyfriend had been lying to him and going behind his back and now his best friend was on Liam’s side? How was any of this fair?

Niall simply shoved his phone under his pillow before putting his head down, trying to calm but it really wasn’t working that well. It was Monday and nobody was home, so at least he could sob as loudly as he wanted to without anybody hearing him. He regretted being an asshole to Louis but then again, what the hell had that been? Why was he on Liam’s side and not on Niall’s? 

So basically, after today Niall didn’t have anybody anymore, his family had hated him all along and his best friend wasn’t even pretending to be worried about him. Still, none of that hurt as much as what Liam had done, Niall had been cloud nine for so long now that the rude awakening hit him even harder. He loved Liam, with all his heart, and he would have NEVER though he’d ever pull something like that, he had genuinely thought that maybe… maybe they had been meant to be together.

 

\---------------

 

“Have you tried calling him? Today, I mean?” Louis was being such a pain in the ass about all of this, Liam couldn’t even believe it. Also, he really regretted even having shown up to uni at all today, he would have rather stayed home so he could have cried whenever and tried calling Niall so many times that the blonde would finally pick up because of how annoyed he was.

If he would have just let Liam explain or read his messages… 

“About 10 times.” Liam answered, trying not to snap at Louis because both him and Harry were just trying to help, which the brunette should have been happy about because Louis had looked ready to smack the hell out of Liam before he had explained the whole thing to him. And damn, Louis had been hard to convince, even after Liam had shown him pretty much all his text messages. “We shouldn’t even be here together, Niall’s brother-“

“Is a damn pussy, plus there’s literally no one here, we’re good. Maybe Niall’s asleep or his phone is just turned off.” Clearly, Louis was running out of options and Liam just sighed as he took out his phone and scrolled through his contacts to find Niall’s name, holding the phone in between the three of them and pressing speaker. The call got cut off after a few seconds. “Maybe-“

“He’s actively ignoring me.” It was obvious for all of them to see so there was no need for any of them to try and make Liam feel better about it. “You should try calling him, just to make sure he’s alright.”

“Okay… I bet he won’t pick up the phone for me either.” But Louis did call him and to no one’s surprise, the blonde seemed to pick up after only a few seconds. “Hi, Nialler… where are you?”

Louis threw an apologetic look at Liam before walking away from him and Harry, only a few steps until they weren’t able to hear him anymore. They were sitting somewhere behind the back building of uni, by the dumpsters pretty much, just to be sure no one was able to see them all together. All of them were skipping class right now and Liam just wanted to go home altogether, not really seeing a point in being here anymore because it’s not like Harry or Louis were able to help him with this, he had messed it all up by himself.

Liam hadn’t meant any harm bringing up Niall’s family in the conversation with his mother, he had thought both he and Niall wanted to find out what was actually up with their families and why would he have tried to defend the blonde’s family? Niall knew that Liam thought all of this was bullshit, but why would he have made things even harder for them than they already were?

Of course Liam was aware that the real reason the blonde wasn’t speaking to him and had lashed out two days ago had been because of the ex-girlfriend thing. Liam hadn’t spoken to her in years, but his mother didn’t know that because she was still in love with the idea of Liam being together with that girl, so the brunette made up a lie once a while because it wasn’t really hurting anybody and even if his mother DID invite her and her family after Liam had talked her out of it… he was about 110% sure that they wouldn’t have bothered showing up anyways.

They hadn’t parted ways in friendship back then and neither of them had been too sad about it. 

Liam had shown all the old chats to Louis and Harry, even old chats with other girls he had dated in the past upon Louis’ request and both of them believed him, but Niall… he was hurt and disappointed, he hadn’t believed a single word two days ago. And now… Liam had no way of reaching his boyfriend if he didn’t pick up the phone, he couldn’t go to his house, he couldn’t even bloody throw stones at his window like in some cheesy movie.

“He’ll eventually have to come around, Li, he loves you.” Harry was rubbing Liam’s back after Louis had left, they were sitting next to each other since half an hour already, not having come to a conclusion. 

“I’m more worried about where he actually is than about him forgiving me right now.” Liam had genuinely only shown up to uni in hopes Niall would be here and that he’d be able to find some empty room so they could talk, but no, the blonde hadn’t ever shown and it was really making Liam nervous. 

“He’s probably just at home because he doesn’t wanna see you.” Great.

“Cheers, thanks, Haz, that’s really motivating.” It really hurt so much, knowing how disappointed Niall was in Liam, how much he had hurt him and the possibility that Liam had destroyed the trust between them. Maybe even their relationship.

“I’m sorry. But he’s just angry, Li, it’s only been two days, give him some time to calm down.” Harry was usually very good at this, giving Liam tips and making him feel better, but it seemed like nothing anybody could have done or said could have made Liam feel better right now.

“But what if he doesn’t? I just don’t know what to do anymore, I keep calling him and texting him and it’s like… he doesn’t care what I have to say, he’s just like… _done_ with it, he just walked out of my house and I don’t even bloody know if he walked home or not because I haven’t heard from him. I’m worried sick since Saturday and I feel like shit and I just wanna apologize and explain it to him and… I know I’m the one who messed up, but fuck, why would I talk to my ex-girlfriend if I’ve got him? I’d never risk what we have, I just want Niall and nobody else.” Liam just couldn’t get it into his head, that Niall was doubting his loyalty and his love, this boy was Liam’s entire world and yeah, he would have NEVER guessed that things were going to turn out this way before they had first talked, but… they just had.

“I’m sure he’s alright, he’s talking to Louis right now after all. And he’s just hurt, Li, imagine the situation the other way around. Also… “ Harry broke off then, his hand slipping from Liam’s back and he kinda looked like he regretted having started this.

“What?” Liam asked, a little bit harsh but it was better than having his voice breaking from the tears building up in his eyes. God damn it, he missed Niall so much, he just wanted to explain it all and never let the blonde go again.

“I mean, people made up a lot of lies about you in the past, and we all know it’s just lies, but… it probably made Niall wonder if there was some truth in it.” The younger boy sounded guilty saying it but Liam just sighed because after all… he knew Harry was right.

“I know, he basically called me a fuckboy right before he left, but… I just… he knows me, he knows I love him and that I’d do anything for him and that I’d never go behind his back… right?” Liam sounded kinda helpless because that question seemed a bit unnecessary anyways, it was obvious that apparently, Niall didn’t know that.

Before Harry was able to answer, Louis was coming back with a rather annoyed expression on his face, causing Liam’s heart to drop as he waited for him to speak up. “Sooo… Niall’s home because he’s sick and he just hung up on me telling me to go fuck myself.”

“He’s sick?” Liam didn’t care about the last part, it was just fair that Niall didn’t wanna speak to Louis either if he didn’t wanna speak to Liam, right?

“Yeah, he said he’s got, like, a fever and stuff, because he walked home from your house without a jacket on.” Louis explained as he sat down with them again and Liam wanted to punch himself. He should have made sure Niall wore a jacket before he left, even while they had been fighting. “So… I’m pretty sure he’s not gonna answer the phone anymore either when I call and I tried to talk some sense into him, but… nothing.”

“So one of us has to go see him.” Harry said it as if it was simplest solution ever and Liam wanted to cry because it definitely wouldn’t be him who could go or he would have done it two days ago. “Liam definitely can’t go, I can’t go, so Louis… “

“I can’t go either, he won’t even open the door for me if he sees it’s me.” Also, if Niall was sick then he probably wanted to sleep and Liam was more for respecting Niall’s privacy and making sure he was feeling better than forcing him to have a visitor, but it didn’t seem like his opinion mattered right now.

“Okay, then just wait until his parents are home or something so they can let you in instead.” Wow, Harry was really being ruthless, especially considering how much Niall’s parents seemed to hate all of them, Niall included. “They’d let you in, right? I mean, I know they don’t like that you’re dating me, but… they think it’s just a phase or some shit?”

“Yeah, but I swear to god, if Greg opens the door, I’m just going to leave again.” Louis sounded dead serious about this and in all honesty, Liam couldn’t even blame him for it. “And I don’t know when his parents are getting home either, they have weird working schedules and they do a lot of night shifts.”

“One of them should be home in a few hours, I guess… “ Liam only spoke from past experiences, but he was still in a conflict whether he wanted Louis to do this for him or not. Then again, Liam was desperate and he just wanted Niall back, just wanted to explain it all to him and then make sure for the rest of his life that the blonde knew just how much he loved him because he couldn’t properly function without him. “If you go see him… can you give him something from me?”

“I’m not gonna kiss him.” Louis said it as if Liam would have genuinely suggested that and the brunette rolled his eyes. 

“I wasn’t gonna say that.” He just suddenly a really stupid and cheesy idea in his head, but he was desperate and he wanted his boy back and he would have done absolutely anything to get Niall to forgive him. “Can we meet again before you go to his house?”

“Um, yeah… where are you going?” Liam had simply gotten up, grabbing his bag, because for the first time since two days, he actually had something to do that didn’t involve crying and calling somebody who never picked up their phone. 

“I gotta go get something. I’ll text you.” It’s not that Liam felt any better now or as if he genuinely thought this was going to work, but he needed to do SOMETHING, he couldn’t just wait for maybe weeks until Niall was ready to talk, because what if he’d never be ready? Liam wasn’t gonna give up on him, not because of something like this and not ever, Niall was the best thing in his life and Liam was going to fight for him.

 

\----------------------

 

Somehow, Niall didn’t seem to get any less tired as time passed by, he just seemed to get more exhausted and sicker and sadder and more disappointed. By now his eyes were hurting so bad that the blonde was scared of wiping his own tears because his skin was burning. Plus, it’s not like it mattered if he dried his face because there were new tears just a moment later.

Despite what had happened, the blonde couldn’t help wishing that Liam was here with him right now to make him feel better while he was sick and maybe bring him some medicine because Niall didn’t have any, but that wasn’t going to happen anyways. He had turned his phone off hours ago, after Louis had genuinely called him wanting to hand the phone to Liam, so now it kinda felt like not a single person in the world cared about Niall. Maybe it was true.

Somebody was home, but Niall had no idea who it was and he also didn’t care, nobody could see him cry like this anyways because he couldn’t have given them an explanation. Fuck, Niall just wanted to ignore what had happened at this point, just wanted to tell Liam that it was fine, that he didn’t care, but it just hurt so much to know that the brunette had broken his trust and kept secrets from him, the blonde wasn’t sure how he’d be able to simply forget that. How’d he ever trust Liam again?

When somebody knocked on the blonde’s door, Niall quickly sat up, his heart bumping fast as he quickly attempted to dry his eyes, for a moment thinking about simply pretending to be asleep. It was probably just his mother though, asking if he was even at home, so there really was no need to do that. “Um, yeah?”

“It’s me.” Wait… “Can I… come in?”

For a second, Niall thought he was dreaming, but then suddenly he was filled both with anger for whoever had let Louis into his house, but also with embarrassment because of what had happened on the phone hours ago. Great, now Louis was going to walk right in here and see how fucking badly Niall was doing, that he had been crying since almost three days straight now and that he probably looked like he hadn’t slept in about two weeks. “I-“

Before Niall had been able to finish, Louis had simply walked into the room before closing the door behind himself, making Niall wanna roll his eyes as he attempted to wipe them some more but it was too late anyways, his friend had already seen him. “You look terrible.”

“What do you want?” Niall couldn’t help but be annoyed, he had felt guilty for telling Louis to go fuck himself right afterwards, but the longer he had thought about it… Louis had been asking for it. Still, and the blonde would have never admitted that, he wasn’t actually too upset about Louis having come to see him.

“How about hello instead?” Louis didn’t sound upset, but he also didn’t look like he had too much sympathy for the blonde right now and somehow it really bothered Niall. “Can I open a window? It kinda stinks in here.”

“Well, if you want me to get even sicker, go ahead.” And he really did, but Niall didn’t say anything, just pulled the blanket up higher and leaned against the headboard. “Who let you in?”

“Your mom. I told her I needed to bring you homework and she said she didn’t even know you’re here, did you not tell her that you’re sick?” Honestly, didn’t Louis already know Niall’s family long enough?

“You know we don’t talk to each other on purpose.” It maybe sounded a bit like a joke, but it was the truth, Niall just shrugged before looking down onto his lap while Louis sat on the other side of the bed, dropping his backpack. “Did he ask you to come?”

“No, actually… Liam was the one who wanted to give you privacy.” Great, what was Niall going to do with that information? 

“Right, my bad for asking, should’ve known he wouldn’t care if I’m all alone when I’m sick and he cheated on me and then stole my best friend but-“

“Niall, seriously, stop, okay? Nothing of what you just said is true.” Okay, then why did it feel like it?

“Because Liam made you believe it’s not.” However he had managed that, but he had had a full day to plan it all out yesterday.

“No, because he literally let me read every single one of his messages on any social media platform and he was on the verge of tears the whole time and he was still most worried about why you didn’t show up to uni and whether you’re alright because he hasn’t heard from you.” Louis sounded really serious defending Liam and Niall didn’t actually wanna look at him right now because he felt a bit like Louis had just come to make him feel even worse.

“Right, well, if all of it wasn’t true and if he was so sorry, then how come he hasn’t even made an effort to make sure I believe him? He just terrorizes me with phone calls and messages and-“

“Oh my god, Niall, what is Liam supposed to do? Come to your house when your parents are home and you wouldn’t even open the window for him? You really gotta decide whether you want him to leave you alone or not.” Now Louis sounded annoyed, which really got Niall angry because… what the fuck? 

“You know what, Louis? If you’re such a big fan of Liam’s then why are you even here? Don’t you wanna hang out in his mansion instead and talk about how much of an idiot I am for not realizing that he went behind my back and about how much you all hate me and couldn’t give a single shit about how I’m feeling? I was always there for you, whenever you had fights with your ex-boyfriends and Harry and now you aren’t only NOT there for me, you’re also siding with Liam and you believe his story without even listening to my version and you come here while I’m fucking sick and feel like crap and try to make me feel even worse? Honestly, you could have spared yourself the trip. Just leave, I don’t need you here, all you care about is Liam’s feelings when _Liam_ is the one who went behind MY back, I didn’t do anything to him. So bye.” With that, Niall made sure to lie back down facing away from Louis, pulling the blanket up as high as possible so the other boy wouldn’t see him cry. Niall was just so done.

“Niall… you really think I don’t care about you?” Now Louis sounded hurt, but what did Niall care? He had been hurt since three days now and no one cared about that either. “Look, I’m sorry if I sounded harsh, I just… I want you guys to work this out, and I wasn’t coddling Liam if that’s what you’re thinking, I was ready to kick his ass when I found out what happened. But he showed me all his messages and he explained it all and… Ni, if you’d just talk to him, you guys could work this out so easily. He didn’t cheat on you, he doesn’t even talk to any of his ex’s and he really loves you. I know you’re hurt and I really get it, okay? But that’s why I want you to talk to Liam because I want you to feel better. And I’m sorry that you’re sick.”

“He could have just deleted the messages… “ Niall mumbled into his pillow, sniffing a bit but feeling slightly better now that Louis’ voice had gotten softer. It’s not like Niall didn’t wanna believe Louis because he really did, it was more like… he just couldn’t.

“He didn’t, Niall. He told me the whole story as well, they weren’t even friends anymore when they split up and they haven’t talked since, he offered me and Harry to call her and ask her ourselves. He really loves you, Nialler, and I’d never want you to be with him if I thought he was cheating on you or flirting with other people behind your back but I genuinely believe that he was telling me the truth.” Louis sounded so serious it made Niall a bit unsure, like… he did somehow act like the most jealous person in the entire world, but the thing was, he wouldn’t have minded Liam simply TALKING to his ex-girlfriend, it was just the fact that he had had to hear it from Liam’s mother with all that back story and… it had just been everything at once. 

“What if he’s just really good at convincing people?” Niall couldn’t help it, he was genuinely worried about all these things, before this had happened he wouldn’t have doubted Liam’s words for one second, but now… 

“Maybe he is, but I’m 100% sure that he wasn’t lying to us. His ex-girlfriend moved and lives 2 hours away, I mean… that would be kinda inconvenient.” Well, inconvenient wasn’t the word Niall would have chosen, but it was comforting to know that the blonde would never have to see her in real life. “Before I forget, Liam gave me something to give to you actually.”

“What?” Niall tried not to be excited, but he at least turned back around, very slowly, half sitting up while Louis was busy opening his backpack.

“I don’t know, he didn’t say. Here.” Louis had pulled a gift bag out of his backpack, but it was tied at the top so Niall had no idea what was inside as he reached for it, only staring though instead of opening it. “You should really open it, when I said I’d go see you he suddenly jumped up and left to get whatever is in there and he actually brought it to Harry’s house when I was there just to make sure you’d get it.”

“He drove his car for five minutes to get this to me? Wow… “ The sarcasm just slipped out, Niall couldn’t hold back, but it had more been about Louis sounding so impressed rather than Liam’s present. 

“Just open it.” The older boy rolled his eyes, but it was obvious he would have loved to open it himself just to know what it was.

Just because Niall was really curious though, he started to slowly untie the bag, it was quite big actually and kinda heavy and the blonde had no idea at all what it could have been and why Liam thought it’d change the blonde’s mind. 

At first, Niall had no idea what he was looking at before he pulled it out of the bag, quickly realizing that there were many things in there rather than just one and he wanted to not like it, but it was kinda impossible. “Is that all that’s in there? A stuffed dog?”

Louis sounded really disappointed in Liam somehow, looking at the dog that looked a hell lot like Liam’s dog that Niall had pulled out so the blonde wordlessly turned the bag around and emptied the contents on his bed. Liam had not only bought him a teddy, he had also bought Niall tons of medicine, probably guessing that he didn’t have any, chocolate and what was obviously a fake rose, but the thing that the blonde couldn’t actually believe Liam had seriously put in there was the older boy’s hoodie, the one that Niall liked to wear when they were all alone. 

“What’s this?” Louis had spotted the letter faster than Niall, already having reached for it but the blonde luckily reached out for it in time to snatch it from his friend, his face feeling pretty hot and his heart beating kinda fast. “He really is cheesy as hell, isn’t he?”

“Shut up… “ Niall mumbled, kinda not wanting to read the letter with Louis sitting right there but he also didn’t wanna wait.

“Ah, okay, well, I guess I’ll just read the back of those chocolates then, just to make sure he doesn’t wanna poison you… “ Niall was aware that Louis was already opening the chocolate, but he didn’t care right now, he just pulled the letter out of the envelope, his hands shaking a bit as he unfolded it, still keeping Liam’s hoodie in his lap.

 

_Niall,_

_If you read my messages, I’m probably going to repeat half the things I said there, but that’s because they’re really important to me and I can only hope that you’re going to read this because I don’t know what else to do. If I could have, I would have long shown up at your door step to beg for forgiveness or I wouldn’t have even let you leave in the first place because I don’t even know how I survived the past few days._

_I’m so sorry, baby, I know I hurt you and I let you down, but it was never my intention to do that. I shouldn’t have brought up your family when I was talking to my mom & most of all, I shouldn’t have said what I did when she asked me if I have contact with you. I’m not looking for excuses, I simply told her what I thought would be least suspicious and the reason I brought up your family was because for a moment I genuinely hoped that maybe all this could be worked out after all. _

_About what else you heard, I swear to you I don’t talk to any of my ex’s anymore & I know it’s hard to believe but it’s the truth. There’s no reason for me to go behind your back, there’s nobody else I want except for you and I wish I could somehow show you the inside of my brain or something just so you could believe that you’re the only one for me. _

_I should have told you about her, but I simply never thought it was important because it was years ago, my mother is the one who can’t let it go. Please trust me when I say that there is nothing going on, there hasn’t been for a long time and there never will again. I promise that I will tell you everything you want to know, I’d do anything to get you back, I miss you so much it hurts, especially at night when you’re not there to steal my covers in your sleep._

_I love you, Niall, even if you maybe don’t believe it right now. I pretty much loved you after our first kiss and I just waited to tell you so I wouldn’t freak you out. I love everything with you, how I can be myself around you and make you laugh by cracking my stupid jokes & the fact that we can talk about absolutely anything because it isn’t weird or uncomfortable. I also love just sitting next to you and not talking and just being around you because you make me the happiest I’ve been in a really long time and I wouldn’t give that up for anything in the world. And most of all I love kissing you and cuddling you & just being close to you and being able to call you my boyfriend. I wish things were different, I wish I could go around telling everybody how proud I am of being with you and make you sleep in my bed every single night and hold your hand while walking you to your classes. I also wish I would have been braver and started talking sooner so we could have had the past two years together as well, but right now, all I really want is to be with you and to be able to explain everything. And it doesn’t matter if we have to hide it for a few more years because as long as I’ve got you, I’m pretty sure I’ll be fine._

_I thought maybe you needed something to cuddle with and I sadly couldn’t bring you Watson, but I do think there’s kind of a resemblance between him and that teddy. Also, even if you maybe don’t want it right now, I know you’re sick and I want you to be warm and I know how much you like wearing my hoodie, so I made sure to put that in there as well. I wasn’t sure if you had any at home, but if you don’t, please don’t just take every medicine I bought you, I’m not sure what you have exactly, so make sure to read the packages first, okay?_

_I love you more than anything in the world & I miss you. I hope you feel better soon, if you need anything at all then I’m always there and you can call me at whatever time. _

_Liam x_.

 

“Are you crying?” Yes, Niall was most definitely crying and he didn’t give Louis an answer when the other boy asked, talking around a mouth full of chocolate but sounding pretty shocked at the same time. “Oh my god, what did he write in that letter? It’s not like… anything bad, is it? Are you crying from happiness?”

“Can you just… be quiet for a second?” Niall half sobbed, desperately trying to wipe his tears but it wasn’t making all too much difference anyways. Shit, he shouldn’t have read that letter in front of Louis. 

It was kinda awkward, to just be sitting there and crying onto the paper, but the thing that actually made everything even worse was the fact that Niall didn’t seem to be the only one who had been crying on that letter. Damn, why hadn’t Niall just stayed two days ago and let Liam explain the whole situation to him? Why had he locked himself into the bathroom like a child, it was his own fault somehow that he had left Liam enough time to delete any possible messages… what if there hadn’t been any though? 

If that girl lived two hours away and if they had broken up without even remaining friends, why would Liam have gone through all that trouble behind Niall’s back? Why’d he even be with Niall in the first place then if he still loved somebody else? And if he didn’t love her and just wanted somebody on the side, why choose somebody so far away that he never even saw?

Niall felt like a right idiot at this moment.

“What’re you doing?” Louis was still eating the chocolate, however, now he was chewing a bit nervously when Niall reached for his phone still underneath his pillow, turning it back on while clenching a fist around Liam’s hoodie. The blonde was so tempted to just put it on or press it against his face, see if it smelled like the brunette because of how painfully much he was missing him right now. He had before of course, but now that he somehow had a spark of hope left that all of this had just been him overreacting… 

“Calling Liam… “ Niall’s voice almost broke while he said it, not having to scroll through his contacts to find Liam’s name because the brunette had tried calling him so many times and written so many messages, Niall could just press on call back, his heart literally racing. 

“Shit, what did he write in that letter? Did he include some nudes?” No idea how Louis could be joking right now, but Niall didn’t actually care, he was just suddenly afraid Liam wasn’t going to pick up his phone or that maybe HE was mad at Niall now, if there really had been nothing at all going on, he’d have every reason to be pissed at Niall for not trusting him and for acting like a baby.

Luckily though, Niall only had to be afraid for like 3 seconds.

“Niall-“

“I read your l-letter.” The blonde’s voice cracked a little bit and he was embarrassed at just how light his chest suddenly felt upon hearing Liam’s voice through the phone. Fuck, he just wanted all of this to be over, he just wanted to forget what had happened and move on and trust Liam like he had before, if Harry and Louis were so convinced by his innocence, was there really a reason for Niall to still be worried? 

“I’m… I’m sorry if it was really cheesy, but I really meant every word I wrote. I’m so glad you called, baby, I’m so sorry about everything… how are you feeling? Louis told me you’re sick.” He sounded really worried and Niall wanted to just lie down and cry and have Liam there to comfort him and not think about what had happened anymore. Maybe it wasn’t healthy, but he honestly couldn’t have even imagined not being with Liam anymore, he wasn’t sure if he’d survive it. 

“I don’t know… like shit.” Niall simply told him the truth, still having to sniff and refusing to look at Louis sitting on the bed and probably hoping to hear Liam so he’d know what they were talking about. 

“Do you have a fever?” Now Liam had jumped over into protective mode and somehow it really got Niall feeling even more emotional than he had already been.

“I don’t know… “ Niall didn’t actually have a thermometer or anything like that and he also didn’t care right now because ever since reading that letter and hearing Liam’s voice again, he only wanted one single thing right now and he didn’t care if it was pathetic or if Louis was listening or if Liam had just been about to say something else. “I… I wanna see you.”

Liam sounded very surprised hearing that and he actually hesitated for a moment, which Niall wasn’t very happy about, but of course, the source of all their problems seemed to lie in the fact that they weren’t able to be with one another whenever they wanted to. “I wanna see you too, baby… are your parents home?”

“My mom is… “ This didn’t start very good, but Niall was so fucking desperate for Liam to get here right now, he was ready to beg Louis to let them stay at his house instead. 

“Mine are as well, I-“

“Please just come.” Okay, now Niall was really being pathetic considering he had just spent two days ignoring Liam and thinking about whether he’d ever even kiss him again and now he was so desperate for the brunette to be here he wasn’t sure if he’d be able to wait for him to get here. “P-Please.”

“I will, okay? Please don’t cry, Ni, I’m leaving right now, okay? Is Louis still with you?” There was a lot of moving in the background and Niall couldn’t actually believe that it had only taken him to ask once for Liam to get up and leave his house even after what the blonde had just pulled. 

“Yeah… “ At this point, Niall briefly looked up just to see Louis’ giant grin while he was actually texting on his phone, probably telling Harry about this and the blonde didn’t even care. “Liam… “

“Yes?” The brunette sounded kind of distracted for a bit, which probably had something to do with the fact that Niall was making him WALK to his house when it was already dark, but then again, it’s not like he had been putting up a fight, had he? 

“I’m sorry.” Niall didn’t know what else to say, he still wasn’t sure what to believe, but he felt really stupid now for not even having given his boyfriend a single chance to explain or to try and convince him. Also, after seeing how convinced Louis had been by Liam’s innocence and reading the letter, things had changed a little bit in Niall’s head. Plus, he was sick and he had been two days without Liam, he slowly felt like he was becoming a little bit insane.

“You have nothing to be sorry for, baby, okay? We’ll just talk it all out when I’m there, I’m just so glad you called, I was so worried about you.” Thinking about Liam being upset with him and ignoring him for 2 days without giving Niall any way of knowing where he was, the blonde suddenly felt even worse for what he had done. “I love you.”

The blonde let his eyes fall closed at that, taking the words in that were making his stomach all warm and his skin tingle, not being able to believe that he could have missed Liam telling him that so incredibly much. “I love you too… “

Before Liam could say anything else, it was actually Louis that captured the blonde’s attention, already having put his phone away and suddenly looking very ready to leave. “I think that’s my clue. Liam’s coming here, yeah?”

“He is… “ Niall didn’t actually wanna put away the phone, so he made sure to briefly let Liam know what was going on, not knowing if he should be happy about his best friend leaving or not. Then again, he was actually kinda indifferent about it because once Liam would be here, the blonde wasn’t going to care about much else anymore.

“Tell him thanks for the chocolate and _please_ listen to what he has to say, okay?” Louis very obviously planned on showing himself to do the door, so Niall remained seated, rolling his eyes when his friend laughed after getting up, reaching over to ruffle the blonde’s for a second. “Glad we sorted this. I hope you’ll feel better soon, I’ll call you tomorrow.”

“Okay, thanks for… for coming over, Lou... I’m sorry I told you to go fuck yourself.” After all, he had only been wanting to help and without him, Niall might have not had that change of heart so soon. Plus, he would have had nobody pushing him to talk to Liam and telling him that they 100% believed that the brunette had done absolutely nothing behind Niall’s back.

“You can make it up to me by making up with your boyfriend, okay?” Niall’s cheeks got a bit hot knowing Liam was listening to all of this, but he still nodded.

After Louis had left, Niall was kinda getting impatient, he was still on the phone with Liam of course, but he made sure to lock his bedroom door before cleaning up his bed from all the things the brunette had bought him, especially all the medicine stuff. Niall honestly had no idea what any of it did and he wasn’t really into reading all the packages, so Liam took it upon himself to ask the blonde about all of his symptoms and then telling him what to take.

Maybe this was ridiculous, them just talking on the phone now as if nothing had ever happened, but in reality, Niall wondered if Liam was as nervous as him right now because his heart was almost jumping out of his chest and he suddenly craved Liam’s arms around him so much that he could have cried even while only being minutes away from it.

It wasn’t too late, but it was already pitch black outside when Niall opened his window for Liam, having made sure to hang up the phone before so no one who was potentially home could have heard the brunette talking in the garden. Niall felt like an idiot when he put on Liam’s hoodie after having his hands free, but it was cold outside and he was sitting there waiting with his window wide open, so… at least that’s what he told himself.

Liam was really good at climbing up on that tree but Niall could still hear it of course and he got up, not really knowing what to do, nervously biting on his nails while watching Liam’s silhouette, his heart literally stopping when the brunette pulled himself up and made it into the blonde’s room without any problem at all. He looked so bloody good and warm and huggable and Niall was again almost crying because he suddenly felt so damn relieved and happy.

They stared at each other for like 4 seconds, neither of them saying a word, and it was Niall who simply stepped forward to wrap his arms around his boyfriend, pressing his face into his shoulder while tears were building up in his eyes. “I missed you… “

“I missed you too, Nialler… “ Liam was hugging back just as tightly, kissing the side of Niall’s head and rocking them a bit, his arms almost hurting around the blonde but Niall wouldn’t have had it any other way. “You don’t look so healthy, love, you wanna lie down?”

“Yeah… in a second.” Niall wanted to enjoy this embrace for a bit, just hold onto his boyfriend and close his eyes, pretend everything was alright and that they just hadn’t seen each other in a few hours rather than days. 

Of course Liam did him the favor, just holding on tightly and rubbing Niall’s back for a few minutes before very slowly and gently attempting to pull away so the blonde let him. His cheeks were turning hot when Liam cupped them in his palms before pressing his lips to Niall’s forehead and then his nose, smiling a rather sad smile though when they looked at each other afterwards, Liam’s thumbs gently brushing underneath Niall’s eyes, probably because of how read they were from all the crying. “Should we talk?”

“Okay… but I really gotta close that window first.” It was surely getting cold, plus now Liam wasn’t holding Niall anymore to shield him from the wind so the blonde was almost shivering by the time he had finally closed the window. 

They decided to lie down, mostly because Niall felt like shit even with Liam here right now. Liam made sure to check whether Niall really taken the medicine before they went to lie in bed, which would have made the blonde roll his eyes normally, but right now, he actually really needed the brunette to baby him like this. 

“Okay? Are you warm enough?” Liam seemed worried, he was lying on his side but still underneath the blanket with Niall, having smiled a bit when the blonde had put the stuffed dog Liam had bought him underneath his head.

“I’m good… now that you’re here… “ Niall was a little bit blushed, but like, the situation made it kinda appropriate. Plus Liam was constantly brushing hair out of his forehead and stroking his face, lying so impossibly close to the blonde that Niall could almost feel his every breath. “Can I… ask something?”

“Anything, Ni, you know that.” He sounded very serious, their eyes meeting for the flicker of a second and Niall was sure Liam was expecting him to maybe ask about his ex-girlfriend or something, but the blonde had something else on his mind as well.

“If I had kept ignoring you for like… I don’t know how long… would you have just, like, given up at some point? I mean… I’d understand if you were upset, I shouldn’t have-“

“Babe, no, why would _I_ be upset? I’m the one who owes you an explanation and not the other way around, hell, if I’d imagine the situation the other way around… I would have freaked out as well.” Anyone would have probably, but not everyone would have stormed off like Niall had. “And no matter how long you would have ignored me for, I wouldn’t have given up on you, Nialler, don’t even think that for a second, okay? You did nothing wrong and I’m just so glad you called me and agreed to talk, but if you hadn’t, I would have stayed persistent until you would have eventually given in.”

“I still feel bad, just at that moment… and then the thing with our families… but I still should have just stayed and let you explain, it wasn’t fair.” Niall looked Liam in the eyes while he spoke, meaning every single word and the brunette just stared at him, thumb brushing over the blonde’s cheek before he leaned down a bit, letting Niall decide when to close the gap between their lips. 

They didn’t kiss for long or deep because Niall was sick, but it was enough to send sparks all over his body, literal fireworks exploding in his stomach. When they pulled apart, Liam had half a smile on his face and the blonde mindlessly reached out to touch his dimple, his lips still feeling warm and tasting like his boyfriend. “You know if you want to then… I can show you what I showed Harry and Louis.”

For a second, Niall actually considered it, but then he just looked Liam in the eyes again and he was shaking his head slightly before he had even thought about it. “If you swear to me that I have nothing to worry about then I’m gonna believe you. I love you and I don’t want us to not trust each other or have secrets.”

“I swear it, Niall, on anything you want, there isn’t and there never will be anything going on again, I only love you and you’re the only one I wanna be with.” Liam hadn’t hesitated for only one single second, his face all serious and yet soft and Niall felt relief spreading through him once more. Of course though, the whole thing wasn’t forgotten yet, it was still hanging in the air between them and Niall really wanted to ask something else before they’d move on. 

“Okay.” So that was settled and it actually felt so good that Niall couldn’t help the tiny smile spreading on his lips that Liam returned, about to say something but the blonde had something else in mind. “What, uh… what’s her name?”

So Liam told him, even though he seemed surprised, and then moved on to tell Niall the whole story of their relationship because the blonde somehow kept asking. In the end, he definitely felt a whole lot better, even after seeing the girl’s Instagram, but maybe also a bit because she appeared to have a boyfriend anyways. Not that Niall hadn’t trusted Liam after the brunette had sworn it to him, but it definitely wasn’t doing any harm, right? 

After an hour of them talking it out and Niall throwing in some stories of his own ex’s just to brighten the mood a bit but also because he thought maybe Liam would have wanted to know some of these things as well, the blonde felt incredibly tired and exhausted but also very light somehow, as if for the moment, there was nothing to worry about anymore.

“Are you gonna stay with me?” Niall couldn’t help the whiny voice after they had gotten into a bit more comfortable position, all the lights turned off because they had kinda started to hurt Niall’s eyes.

“If you want me to.” Liam half whispered, still brushing his fingers through the blonde’s hair and Niall just nodded, cuddling closer into his boyfriend. “Hey, Ni…?”

“Hm?” The blonde was already on the verge of passing out, Liam was just so warm and he smelled so good and everything was just so comfortable and good, no one would have been able to resist that.

“Do you, um… do you still wanna go on vacation with me?” He actually sounded worried that maybe Niall was going to say no or something and the blonde decided that there was no way he’d ever let Liam feel that unsure about Niall wanting to spend time with him again.

“I’d go anywhere with you.” It was true and though Niall still had his eyes closed, he knew Liam was happy with his answer by the way he held him tighter, lips pressing against the blonde’s head and his hot breath giving Niall goosebumps.

“I love you so much.” Liam mumbled somewhere into Niall’s hair and the younger boy felt himself smiling, feeling all content now after days of not being able to stop crying.

“I love you too, Li.” Probably a whole lot more than he would ever be able to show the other boy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sooo i hope you all enjoyed the chapter, i kinda liked throwing in liams view for a moment and i might switch to his POV for a bit in future chapters! i know their fight didnt last very long lmao, but thats because nothing actually happened! plus, theres more drama coming, no worries ;)
> 
> i hope the letter liam wrote wasnt too weird haha, i changed it like 500 times last night and idk if im happy with it but its done now!
> 
> thank you for all the comments on the last chapter as well, i can tell a bit of drama was overdue! 
> 
> i love you guys <3


	11. Chapter 11

Niall couldn’t go to uni for the whole week because of how sick he was and Liam would be lying if he said that he didn’t feel solely responsible for his boyfriend’s condition. He couldn’t stay with him all day of course, but Liam made sure to spend every night with the blonde in his bed, skipping pretty much all his morning uni classes for 4 days straight and spending so little time at home that his parents, who were usually the ones never being at home, asked him what he was up to.

So Liam had to tell a few lies to his family, for which he didn’t feel bad at all though, because he would have done ANYTHING to make all of this up to Niall. The blonde insisted that there was no need to talk about it any longer, but Liam still had his moments of doubt, like, what if Niall didn’t actually believe him? What if secretly he still wasn’t trusting Liam?

Those things were probably just a product of Liam’s imagination though because Niall definitely did not act as if he still held any grudge, especially not when they were all hanging out at Harry’s house on Saturday. None of their houses were an option at this point, Liam’s parents were hosting a dinner party, Niall’s brother had friends over and so did Louis’ sisters, so… yeah, Liam was pretty damn grateful for Harry’s mother liking them all so much. 

“Ugh, Niall, can you maybe not cough on everything in here? I don’t wanna catch whatever you had.” Louis sounded pretty disgusted, shoving the blonde a bit, who of course complained pretty loudly, not letting himself get too distracted though by the Xbox game they were playing. 

“I’m not sick any longer, you can’t infect yourself anymore.” Liam wasn’t sure if that was true but he stayed quiet of course, still absently running his fingers through Niall’s hair, who was on the floor between his legs, and throwing a look at Harry, who was lying on the other couch rolling his eyes at Liam, making him grin. It was always the same with Niall and Louis.

“It’s still gross, at least cover your mouth or something.” He probably really should have done that, and he had whenever he and Liam had been alone, the brunette had literally had to talk Niall into kissing him on the mouth because he had been so concerned about infecting Liam. After having spent a whole week inside though, Liam could tell that his boyfriend was just really over being sick in bed.

“You’re just a sore loser, you can admit it, Lou.” They were playing some car game, Liam wasn’t paying too much attention, he just knew that both Niall and Louis had been pretty excited when Harry had suggested it, but since he had only two controllers, Liam and Harry had been watching for like an hour already. The other two really were terribly competitive but Liam would be lying if he said that he didn’t want Niall to win. 

Liam didn’t care if he ever got to play or not, he just wanted to spend time with Niall and see him having fun and smiling, because he had definitely not seen enough of that the past week. The blonde had gotten sicker on Tuesday and Liam had really gotten worried despite Niall’s poor attempts to tell him that he was fine, because he had clearly not been.

So now that he was somewhat healthy again, Liam was just happy to do absolutely anything with Niall that didn’t involve lying in his bed and the blonde crying from having to cough so much and barely being able to speak because of his throat hurting. Though Liam had stayed with him as much as possible, he had still felt bad for every minute he hadn’t spent with Niall, mostly because this boy was his everything and only slightly because of what had happened last weekend. 

“HA! You’re so bad at this.” Niall was actually laughing at Louis after winning and Liam tried not to laugh or look too amused, but the blonde just seemed so proud of himself that Liam couldn’t help feeling the very same.

“Whatever, it’s only a game, I don’t know why you’re getting so into it.” Clearly, Louis was upset, it wasn’t hard to tell and Niall was having the time of his life with it. “I need the bathroom.”

“Are you gonna cry in there now?” Niall was giggling like an idiot when Louis rolled his eyes at him after getting up and leaving the living room. “He’s totally gonna cry.”

“I don’t think so, he’s used to losing because I beat him all the time.” Harry’s eyes were still glued to the screen of his phone while he said it, simply shrugging when Louis yelled a very loud ‘I heard that!’ from the hallway. 

“You should try next, Li.” When Niall leaned his head back against the couch to look at Liam, Liam couldn’t help the massive grin spreading across his face because of how goofy the blonde looked right now, but also so damn cute that the brunette leaned down forward to kiss him on the lips without thinking. 

“I think you’re all way better than me, and I rather enjoy watching you get so into it, babe.” That was actually very true, Liam could have watched Niall doing absolutely anything at all without getting bored. Sometimes when the blonde had long fallen asleep, Liam would sometimes just watch him sleep, something he had never told Niall though because he wasn’t sure how the blonde was going to react. He wouldn’t be mad or anything obviously, but Liam really liked the thought of having this little thing for himself, just looking at his boyfriend completely passed out and relaxed, sometimes moving closer to the brunette whenever Liam couldn’t keep himself from touching him.

“It’s Louis’ fault, he’s super competitive.” The blonde made it sound as if this was entirely his friend’s fault or something, putting down his controller and climbing up on the couch next to Liam, almost immediately falling into his side.

“I think you’re a little bit competitive as well, Nialler.” Liam chuckled at the face Niall pulled, as if the brunette had just completely made that up, still putting his head down on the older’s shoulders though, their thighs pressed together because of how close they were. 

“Nah, I can’t help it that I’m so talented.” Niall joked, reaching for Liam’s hand to play with his fingers and though they had been cuddling nonstop for pretty much the whole week, Liam still appreciated every single touch even more since last weekend. He was never ever going to let anything like that happen again, he should have never let Niall leave without being able to explain, but first, he should have told the boy more about his past relationships before his mother had brought them up. “Hey, Li... “

“Yeah?” They had been here for only an hour, but Niall being so cuddly and affectionate kinda made Liam wish they could have gone to his house instead. Of course, they wouldn’t be able to because the dinner parties Liam’s parents hosted were pretty intense and always lasted until late in the morning. 

“You know what we talked about before?” Right, it took Liam a second to get it and to realize Niall hadn’t actually been saying what he meant because Harry was lying on the other couch right next to them.

“I-“

“Can you two maybe keep it in your pants or is that not a thing with you guys?” Louis came back right when Liam was about to answer, tightening his arm around the blonde to make sure he wasn’t going to keep on exchanging bicker with his friend like they loved to do. 

“It’s not a thing with us.” Niall simply said it like that, shrugging, and though Liam couldn’t see his boyfriends face, he knew Niall well enough to imagine the look he was throwing at Louis right now while he sat down next to Harry. 

“Actually, we wanted to ask you guys something.” Liam made sure to interject before this would turn into something else and both Louis and Harry seemed kinda curious when he spoke up. Honestly, Liam was slightly nervous about this, he suddenly also didn’t know anymore if he actually WANTED to ask this, but he and Niall had discussed this and they didn’t really have that much of a choice. 

“We won’t join in on a foursome.” Right, Liam should have expected something like that from Louis and also for Niall to throw a pillow at his friend without even giving Liam a second to blink.

“As if I’d ever wanna see you naked, Lou.” Then again, Liam was pretty sure Niall had seen his friend naked, he knew how close they had been and he remembered very vividly how worried he had been at first that the blonde was actually crushing on Louis instead of him. 

“What’d you wanna ask?” Harry cut in with Louis’ mouth already open, very much to the brunette’s relief. He made sure to intertwine his fingers with Niall’s again after the blonde had let go to throw a pillow, not really sure how to word this actually.

“Well… me and Niall were talking about, like, going on a vacation sort of, because we’ve got those few days off and… we were wondering if you guys wanted to come.” A little bit because Liam thought it’d be fun, a little bit more because they both needed an alibi in case anybody asked who they were going with. 

“Oh, where do you wanna go?” Clearly, neither of them had been expecting that and Liam realized that maybe it had sounded a little bit weird, but then again, it’s not like he was asking them a favor, right?

“We don’t really know yet, we thought we could all talk about it if you guys wanna come.” Because if they didn’t, Niall and Liam would probably stay home as well, so they kinda had to make Louis and Harry really WANT to come. Also, Liam was aware that Harry and Louis probably didn’t wanna spend as much money as he did for his boyfriend, so there was that as well.

“I think that’s a pretty good idea actually… Lou?” Maybe it was stupid that Liam actually felt relieved when Louis nodded as Harry asked, looking quite into the idea as well even though they both probably knew why Liam had asked them in the first place.

“I can only go if we don’t like go really far away because I don’t have that much money saved.” Right, that had been Liam’s biggest concern as well because he didn’t wanna come off as like some rich dude who wanted to go on vacation all the time and invite his boyfriend and then force their friends to pay for themselves. “I haven’t really been to many places though so that shouldn’t be too hard.”

“Me neither.” Niall shrugged, he had kinda had a small argument with Liam two days ago when they had talked about this in detail because of the money situation, but now Liam felt like the blonde had accepted the fact that the brunette was going to invite him anyways.

They all stayed quiet for a moment, maybe thinking about where they could go and Liam had just been about to suggest something when it was actually Harry who spoke while looking pretty damn excited for some reason. “We should go to Disneyland.”

“Seriously?” Louis had an eyebrow pulled up as he looked at his boyfriend and Liam was a bit unsure as well but Niall had immediately sat up straight, seemingly even more excited than the other boy. Okay, this was not the type of vacation Liam had had in mind, but like… why not?

“We should totally do that, I’ve never done anything like that.” The blonde’s eyes had gone all wide and sparkly when he turned his head to look at Liam, maybe to look for approval and god knows the brunette would have never been able to deny a face like that. Also, why would he have wanted to, he had wanted for Niall to choose all along. 

“Okay, sounds good.” Liam simply agreed without a second thought, finding more joy than he would have thought in seeing his boyfriend’s face light up even more as he let himself fall more into Liam again and the brunette wrapped his arm back around Niall’s shoulders to keep him close.

“Um, so is this a final decision or… ?” Louis was the only one who seemed to not be too thrilled but frankly, he was the last one out of the three of them Liam wanted to please. Not that he didn’t like Louis, they just hadn’t really had time to talk a lot because they couldn’t be seen together in public for Niall’s sake so that complicated things a little bit. 

“Babe, _Disneyland_.” Harry said it as if it was gonna change anything but Louis’ face stayed as unimpressed as before and he simply shrugged in the end. “It’ll be fun and we can be sure that no one from uni or anybody we know is gonna be there.”

“My sisters are gonna kill me though.” Right, Louis had a lot of younger siblings, Liam hadn’t even thought about that, but he honestly wouldn’t have cared if anybody from the other boys’ families would have come because he wasn’t really planning on hanging out with them too much anyways. 

“If you ask any of them to come, I swear to god I won’t babysit for one second.” Niall seemed to have very strong opinions on that and Liam could only guess that that had maybe happened in the past, but he also liked to think it was because the blonde wanted to spend every breathing second with him instead. Just like the other way around.

“As if I’d leave them with you… I wouldn’t bring any of them, I’ll just tell my mom she’s gotta tell them a lie or something and then I’ll magically have gifts for everyone from Disneyland but whatever.” Hearing this, Liam was kinda glad that he didn’t have to buy gifts for anybody whenever he went away, he would have gotten Niall something of course, but seeing as the blonde was going to be with him… “Didn’t your mom wanna go there again for ages or something, Haz?”

“Yeah, true, she went with me once when I was like 4 or something, but I think it made her cry more than it made her laugh, at least from what I can remember.” Harry shrugged and Liam had trouble paying attention to the conversation because Niall was being so cuddly, playing with his fingers and snuggling into him, smiling up at the brunette whenever Liam would kiss his head. 

“Why was she crying? ‘cos you were such a terribly behaved toddler?” Louis was laughing and even though Harry smiled, Liam of course knew that that wasn’t the reason because he had known Harry for ages now.

“Nah, I was an angel. But you know that was back when she got the divorce and all that, so… is also why I couldn’t sleep anywhere else besides at home until I turned 14 because it was always just me and my mom and stuff.” He shrugged a bit and Liam thought back to when he had first met Harry, how he had always had to ask his mom to do anything at all because of how protective she had been. Not like, strict or anything, more as if she had just constantly been scared something might have happened to him. “So if you’d married me all the way back then you would have gotten a completely different last name. I actually… I can’t even remember it right now.”

“Who says I’m gonna take your name when we get married?” They were just teasing each other and Liam stopped listening when Niall turned a bit, trying to reach Liam’s mouth with his lips without having to move too much so Liam made sure to lean down a bit. 

“Do you mind going to Disneyland?” Niall sounded very serious when he asked, talking quietly while Liam was brushing some hair out of the blonde’s forehead, his skin still feeling a little bit warm but maybe Liam was just imaging that because Niall had had a fever for the past few days. 

“No, I don’t mind where we go as long as you wanna go there, that was the whole idea.” Well, not really, but…

“I thought the idea was you wanted to be able to kiss me in public.” The blonde was grinning, but his cheeks had gotten a little bit red and Liam brushed the back of his fingers over his boyfriend’s skin. 

“Nah, I just needed to say that so you would agreed.” Liam joked, laughing over Niall’s perfected pretend upset face because he was just so bloody cute whenever he was pouting. “Truth is, I told Harry to say Disneyland but in reality it’s me who wanted to go.”

“You’re an idiot.” Niall rolled his eyes, but he allowed Liam to kiss him on the lips, a small smile forming on his face afterwards that he was very obviously trying to suppress. “But fine, then we’ll each just do our own thing during the day and-“

“Aw, come on, baby, I was kidding. I can’t wait to kiss you in public.” Though it somehow sounded like a joke now, Liam truly meant it, he couldn’t fucking wait to just be able to do for a few days what they normally only could whenever they went to a different city. And there they also had to kinda limit their touches a bit because you never knew, but a whole different country and a place where the chances of anybody they knew going were so slim… Liam really hoped they’d be able to get over their paranoia. 

The blonde of course forgave Liam after some tickles and more kisses and Louis pretending to gag in the background, but Liam didn’t mind. He really enjoyed all 4 of them hanging out and he was just so happy that things with him and Niall were so perfect and that they had 2 friends willing to help out, like, their situation wasn’t that great, but Liam was pretty sure that they couldn’t have really made it any better considering everything going on.

 

\-----------------

 

“Why are you so nervous?” Louis kinda looked at Niall as if the blonde was behaving strangely or something when all he was doing was biting his nails and throwing looks over his shoulder once a while. “We’re literally only meeting them at the gate, Ni, who cares if anybody sees the two of us together, your parents know you’re going away with me.”

“Well, one, I didn’t tell them where we’re going and I told them your parents had their tickets changed to our names because they couldn’t go on holiday anymore and two, I’m not nervous about anybody seeing us, I just… I’ve never been in an airport before.” Liam had explained it all to Niall, in way too much detail, but he had noticed how nervous the blonde had been so Niall had managed to calm down two nights ago. Now though, he wasn’t so sure anymore.

“It’s not scary or anything to be nervous about though, it’ll be fine and you can sit next to Liam.” True, the thought of seeing Liam was the only thing keeping Niall calm right now. He hadn’t seen him since yesterday morning on their last day of uni before the break, so that was more than 24 hours ago and though they had been talking on the phone last night, that of course would never compare to being with Liam in real life.

“What if somebody we know is on the same plane though, then we’ll have to switch seats and… “ And Niall would have to sit next to Louis, which neither of them would have been very happy about. 

“Ni, no one we know is on that plane, okay? Harry and Liam are already at the gate and we’re actually running late anyways so I’m sure we’ll be the last ones to get there.” Or maybe not, Niall simply couldn’t help those feelings of paranoia and Louis wasn’t doing that good of a job at calming the blonde down. “Do you actually know what you’re allowed to bring in your bag or-“

“I’m not an idiot, Lou, I asked Liam to check my bag and everything.” Niall rolled his eyes, he obviously wasn’t going to come here unprepared, but he was still nervous about a security check and about flying in general and just about being with Liam in public when ANYBODY could have seen them. “You’ve only been on a plane a few times, you’re not an expert either.”

“Oh, right, but your boy is?” Well, he kinda was and they both knew it but Niall just rolled his eyes anyways, getting his phone out because he didn’t wanna fight with Louis, he just wanted to stop being so bloody nervous. “I’m just trying to save you from having to get searched.”

“I know… sorry, I’m just really nervous. And I haven’t seen Liam in like… a day.” Terrible, just a few hours was but, but… 

“You’ll get to see him for days straight as a reward though, so think about that.” Louis was grinning, petting Niall’s shoulder and the blonde tried to actually focus on that, but first he would have to get through that security check without peeing his pants like a baby.

It all went fine, surprisingly enough, and a lot quicker than Niall would have thought, but he still couldn’t help checking over his shoulder and the people around them every few seconds. The thing was, the airport was like more than half an hour away from where they lived, so the chances of anybody they knew being here was a lot smaller just because of that, but then again, there were a few days off of uni and school, so you never knew, right? Niall just wanted to make sure.

Though Louis claimed his flying and airport knowledge was better than Liam’s, they did have trouble finding the gate and by the time they got there, they had like 4 minutes left until boarding and both Harry and Liam seemed to be pretty stressed out when Niall and Louis finally showed up. Not that Niall paid too much attention to Harry, he only had eyes for Liam from the moment the older boy simply kissed his lips in the middle of the airport.

“Hi… everything okay?” He sounded worried even though Niall had basically texted him every few seconds to let him know what was going on and Niall’s nervousness kinda seemed unnecessary now that he was with Liam. As long as he was there and holding Niall’s hand, the blonde was sure he’d be absolutely fine.

“Yeah, I’m good. Sorry you guys had to wait so long, we kinda, uhm, got a bit lost.” Which really said something in an airport this small, but… “I missed you.”

“I missed you too, baby.” Liam’s smile had come back after what Niall had said, leaning in for another kiss before wrapping his arms around the blonde to keep him close, as if they hadn’t seen each other in a week or something. “It’s so weird to do this with so many people around.”

“I know…. a good weird though, right?” Just to check if Liam felt the same even though Niall knew the answer already, he couldn’t help being a bit desperate for confirmation once a while.

“Definitely a good weird, babe. It’s gonna be great and you’ll enjoy the flight, I’m sure you will. I got you something to eat while we were waiting to save you from the airplane food.” He sounded very proud of himself when he said it and Niall couldn’t help but smile though his stomach still felt slightly weird as he hugged his boyfriend back, kinda completely having forgotten about Harry and Louis still being there as well or the fact that they were in public right now. 

They didn’t have a lot of time to enjoy their embrace and Niall made sure to look around one more time before reaching for his boyfriend’s hand while they were lining up to go inside the airplane, not fully being able to believe that he was allowed to do that. Pretty sure a few days weren’t enough to really get used to being allowed to touch Liam whenever, but maybe it was better this way because they’d have to go back home again obviously. 

Niall felt bad but he was a little bit relieved when Harry and Louis sat like 5 rows behind him and Liam let the blonde sit by the window even though that was actually his seat, but he didn’t even ask, just waited for Niall to sit down. It was really tight, but Niall was sure he was going to be alright, he had also managed staying underneath Liam’s bed for god knows how long, but he definitely wasn’t going to mention that now.

“You okay? You should chew some gum so your ears won’t hurt.” Liam was so fucking sweet, Niall could have cried right now had he not been trying to look a bit happier and more relaxed. 

“You’re the best.” He truly was, Niall made sure to lean over and kiss the older’s cheek softly, his stomach filling with warmth after seeing the brunette’s smile. “Thanks again f-“

“You need to stop thanking me, Ni, it was all my idea.” True, but it was Niall who had agreed with Harry, at first not even having thought about the fact that Liam had already talked him into allowing him to pay absolutely everything for the blonde. Niall actually had no idea how much Liam had paid, the other three had done the whole booking and planning, coincidentally when Niall had had work and he would have probably had to bribe Louis to tell him about it.

It was true, Niall couldn’t have afforded going on vacation, but he could have probably paid half of it except Liam always immediately interrupted him whenever he tried. So the only compromise they had agreed on was that Niall was allowed to use his own money once they were there, but he had seen in Liam’s face that that conversation wasn’t over yet either. The blonde really appreciated it of course and he knew Liam simply wanted to help him out and make sure Niall’s parents wouldn’t find out, but that didn’t mean the blonde didn’t feel guilty about it. 

“I’m not taking it for granted though.” Maybe Niall was overdoing it with the thank you’s, just a little tiny bit, but he couldn’t help himself. 

“I know, love, okay? Just trust me when I say that I really don’t mind because I would do anything to get you to myself for a few days.” See, Liam was just too good at this, intertwining their fingers again after making sure Niall had actually put the piece of gum in his mouth. “Are you still scared?”

“A bit, but I’m gonna come back to that question once the plane is actually in the air… do you think it’s normal to be this nervous?” Probably not, Niall made sure to put his head on the older’s shoulder because it always made him feel better but also a little bit so the brunette couldn’t see his face.

“I think so, I’m sure some people are always this nervous.” He squeezed the blonde’s hand though and Niall tried to pretend like this wasn’t worrying.

“That’s not really motivating, Li.” Truly, what if Niall had to puke or something? What if he threw up on Liam’s lap?

“Sorry, but don’t worry, I’m here and nothing can happen to you, this is safer than driving a car.” No idea if that was true or not because Liam sounded an awful lot like he was simply trying to make Niall feel better, rubbing his thumb along the younger boy’s.

“I can’t even drive though.” Also, he would probably never be able to, Liam had once offered to teach him, but seeing as Niall didn’t want the brunette to get crazy ideas one day and buy him a car or something, he had made sure to decline. “Can you maybe just… talk about something and distract me?”

“Okay, do you want me to tell you about how Harry already has our whole trip planned out?” Liam sounded very amused when he asked so Niall made sure to agree, still kind of impressed by how badly Harry seemed to want to go to Disneyland. 

The plane was starting a bit late, so by the time Liam was almost finished with his story, Niall could barely concentrate anymore and he’d be lying to say that his heart wasn’t bumping as if it was about to jump out of his chest or something. It’s not that he was so easily scared by things, but this was just very new and it also didn’t seem very safe despite Liam’s claims and Niall told himself that he was allowed to be worried the very first time he was in an airplane.

It wasn’t as bad though as he had feared and Liam chuckled a bit over his panicked face when the blonde realized he had forgotten to switch his phone to flight mode, kinda thinking for a moment he was going to cause them to crash or something. How was he supposed to know though? 

The flight wasn’t long at all, which Niall was really happy about because that meant he could throw a very sad look at Liam when the brunette dropped hints about needing the bathroom, ending up staying with Niall in the end. Liam was pretty much talking the whole time, offering Niall food and telling him the most random stories, barely ever letting go of his hand and if he did, he made sure to somehow touch him somewhere else.

All in all and though Louis pointed out how pale Niall was after they were getting off, Niall would have definitely rated his experience as only half as terrifying as he had feared and by the time they had reached the hotel, he was pretending it had been the easiest thing ever while Liam was just rolling his eyes at him with a fond smile.

 

\-----------------

 

“I didn’t really think we’d already lose them after five minutes of being here.” Niall sounded kinda happy when he said it though and Liam felt the same as he squeezed the younger’s hand, barely being able to believe his luck.

“I think it was more them running off but we can stick to your story as well.” Liam grinned, feeling happy as ever to be with his boyfriend even though they were both tired from getting up so early for the flight and probably wouldn’t last for as long as they had had planned. “So, what do you wanna do first?”

“Um, any recommendations?” They had brought their stuff to the hotel first before going to the park and Harry and Louis had been with them for the very first impression before already having run off to do whatever Harry had had planned. Niall seemed pretty impressed as well, his eyes were almost sparkling and it’d be a lie to say that Liam wasn’t enjoying the hell out of it, barely wanting to look anywhere else besides into his boyfriend’s face.

“We can do some rides before too many people come? But just to warn you, I haven’t been here in like 10 years, so I’m pretty sure a lot of things changed.” Liam could very vividly remember coming here as a child though but even back then, he surely hadn’t been as excited about being here as he was right now. All thanks to the boy holding his hand, looking so gorgeous right now with the sun shining into his face that Liam thought about stopping them just so he could take a picture. 

They definitely had to wait quite some time for most of the rides, but Liam didn’t mind at all, not when he had Niall to talk to. Being here like this, all carefree and happy, it was somehow hard for Liam to imagine ever going back to how it was at home even though they had only been here for so little time. It kinda worried him a bit, how it’d feel like to be back home now that they knew what it could have been like instead, but that wasn’t a reason to not do it, was it?

“Do you reckon Louis and Harry are gonna turn up with those Mickey Mouse ears everyone has on?” The thought seemed to make Niall laugh, they had been on about 3 rides before deciding that they were hungry, so now they were just watching people walking past while they were eating.

“Maybe. Do _you_ want to have those ears? You’ve been staring quite a bit.” It was only half a joke, but Liam couldn’t help but laugh when he saw the younger’s cheeks going red as he huffed, pretending to be annoyed.

“No, they look ridiculous.” The younger boy was clearly lying, making sure to stuff his face while Liam was rubbing his back, trying not to grin too much.

“Awww, what if I wear some as well? Are you gonna feel less embarrassed then?” God, why was Niall so damn cute? Liam had been thinking that since the very first time he had seen the blonde and of course back then he hadn’t known anything about him at all, but turned out Niall was even cuter than the brunette had thought was possible. 

“No, because then we’d be as embarrassing as Louis and Harry joking about our wedding and stuff.” Right, the fact that Niall was still thinking about that though it was more than a week in the past definitely made Liam think as well. 

“So you don’t wanna talk about marrying me?” This was a joke, obviously, but the blonde’s eyes still got a bit wider before he looked away from Liam rather quickly, taking another bite before answering.

“Imagine all the drama though… like, with our families and stuff.” Niall sounded very scared all of a sudden, as if they were planning on getting married tomorrow or something and it kinda brought Liam down a bit from the cloud nine trip he had been on for a few hours now.

“One day none of this is going to matter anymore.” Though he would never tell Niall, Liam had been thinking quite a bit about moving out from home ever since he had realized that he couldn’t imagine a life without the blonde anymore. The thing was though, the only reason Liam would have been able to afford that and the reason they were here right now was because of how wealthy his family was and the fact that he could work for his dad whenever he wanted. And if they ever found out he had used the money to move out because he wanted to spend more time with Niall…

“I wouldn’t be surprised if we still won’t know what actually happened in 20 years or something. I’d be way too afraid to ask and… the longer I think about it… “ He broke off there for a moment, hesitating before continuing, definitely making the brunette a bit nervous. “I gotta feeling it was my parents who did something and not yours.”

“Why would you think that?” God, was this still because of what Liam’s mother had said?

“Your parents, they seem… _normal_. My dad has anger issues and my mom… “ Niall never finished and Liam wasn’t sure if he was supposed to ask right now because the younger boy seemed to be lost in thoughts, so he stayed quiet for a moment, trying to think of a way to switch the topic without making Niall feel as if he wasn’t interested in what he had to say. It’s just, they weren’t going to find out what had happened by talking about it and it only influenced their mood in a negative way. “And you don’t hate your parents.”

“I… do you _hate_ your parents?” Liam couldn’t help but ask, he knew Niall’s relationship with his parents was really fucked, but he had never heard the blonde use that word.

“I think I do.” Niall actually looked a bit guilty when Liam checked his face, still rubbing the younger’s back in a poor attempt to make him feel better. “It’s got nothing to do with whatever happened with your family, it’s just the way they are. They were never there for me and I don’t even think they like me and I know a lot of people maybe feel that way about their parents, but like… I think mine genuinely dislike me. And they always treated me a lot differently than my brother as well and I never understood why because he’s never got better grades than me or behaved better. But maybe it’s just because after they had me they were even poorer than before.”

“I’m glad they had you, but like… they should have thought about that beforehand.” It was hard telling whether this really got to Niall or not, he didn’t look too sad while saying those things but obviously Liam was worried about him. 

“I guess. But I mean, I don’t think I really care anymore, I used to, but now it’s just… normal. And I think if we ever do find out why we have to sneak around like that I’d rather it turns out my parents are to blame than yours.” He made it sound really positive, as if that outcome was what they both should have been rooting for. “Maybe… maybe they killed somebody.”

“Um, Niall, why on earth are you thinking that your parents killed somebody?” Liam definitely needed to stop this, like, he had definitely had really crazy thoughts concerning this topic as well, but not while they were finally all by themselves and in freaking Disneyland. 

“I don’t know, Louis said something a while back. And then he was like, suggesting that maybe you and me are related and-“

“What?!” Okay, and why exactly had they asked Louis to go on vacation with them again?

“It was just a joke. But it made me think that maybe it wasn’t just a normal fight, you know? Maybe it was _really_ bad. Criminal bad.” He almost whispered the last part, as if somebody was listening to them and Liam raised an eyebrow at his boyfriend, not sure whether he was being serious right now. 

“I’m pretty sure they’re not criminals, Ni…. It was probably just a stupid fight.” Or maybe not. After Niall had said that, Liam suddenly couldn’t help thinking that it would have explained a lot of things, but he really didn’t wanna deepen those worries. “I can ask my mom again, I mean… I never really tried to make her tell me and then I wasn’t sure anymore if I even wanted to know… “

“You don’t have to do that, I doubt it’d change anything and I don’t want it to like… influence us.” Niall was probably not referring to when he had been lying underneath Liam’s bed but the brunette still winced a bit at that statement, making sure to pull the blonde a bit closer.

“It wouldn’t, it literally has nothing to do with us.” If Niall was right and his parents had committed a crime, Liam would possibly feel a bit nervous having the blonde live with them, but it’d never change the way he saw Niall himself.

“Yeah… we should talk about something else, I don’t like when you’re making that face.” As if to prove his point, Niall suddenly reached out for the older’s face, making him flinch just slightly when he touched his thumb to the corner of Liam’s mouth as if he was trying to make him smile. And he kinda succeeded at that, because Liam could never stay serious whenever the blonde was grinning at him, so he turned his head to kiss the younger’s thumb and then his lips as well just because he could and even though they both probably tasted like food. He honestly couldn’t have chosen a worse moment though.

“Guys, there’s kids here.” Apparently Louis and Harry had seen them from further away because they were suddenly standing right in front of them and Liam didn’t even notice at first, he only stopped kissing Niall because the blonde suddenly pulled away. “Is that what you’ve been doing for the past few hours? You’re literally in the same place we saw each other last.”

“I could ask you the very same, you simply disappeared after five minutes.” Niall sounded annoyed, he stayed close to Liam though, leaning his head against the older’s shoulder because they were kinda done eating anyways. 

“Harry had a lot planned.” Louis shrugged before sitting next to the blonde and Harry seemed kinda embarrassed but he also didn’t protest or try to correct his boyfriend and it’s not like it had been a secret anyways. “I’m disappointed you guys didn’t get matching Mickey Mouse ears or something.”

Though neither Niall nor Liam commented it, Liam knew that they were both thinking the same thing now and he was really trying hard not to laugh. Maybe they should have gotten them after all, but they still had a few days left anyways, so Liam wasn’t really stressed out about it. “I thought you said we’re embarrassing?”

“Yeah, that’s exactly why I was thinking about the matching stuff.” Louis just laughed when Niall tried to hit him playfully but he didn’t manage to reach the other boy and he never tried again, not even lifting his head off of Liam’s shoulder.

“Before you two kill each other, we actually were looking for you because we thought about switching parks.” Harry quickly made sure to interrupt and Liam had been thinking about that as well, especially because he had a feeling that they weren’t going to be able to stay out for that much longer anyways because of how tired they were. 

“Sounds good to me. Ni?” Liam would have been happy to stay if Niall had said just one word but the blonde sounded rather excited when he agreed, not as much as Harry though when he didn’t even take a breath before already telling them about his master plan about where they could go first and Liam couldn’t help but think that he had definitely made a good decision by suggesting that vacation. If he had known it’d make everyone involved this happy and excited, he would have surely done it a lot sooner.

 

\----------------

 

By the time they got back to the hotel, Liam felt absolutely knackered and he could tell that Niall felt the same way. The blonde was almost immediately undressing himself to go shower the second the door had closed behind them and Liam would have joined him had the blonde not been out again after 2 minutes, towel only loosely wrapped around his waist and his hair dripping on the carpeted floor.

“I’m just gonna stay naked, I hope you don’t mind.” It sounded like a joke at first, but it clearly hadn’t been because the blonde simply let himself fall on the bed next to Liam, face first, letting out a bit of a groan.

“Are you okay, love?” Liam chuckled over the dramatic sounds his boyfriend was making, reaching out to rub his bare back a bit, massaging his neck for a moment and he could have sworn he felt Niall relax at an instant.

“I’m fine, just tired… can you keep doing that?” Niall let out a content sigh so Liam did him the favor of course, his fingers cramping a bit after a few minutes though.

“I’ll be right back, okay? I’ll just shower and brush my teeth and then I’ll continue, promise.” Kissing the back of Niall’s neck in an attempt to make up for leaving, Liam didn’t feel too bad anymore when he realized how close Niall was to falling asleep and he actually went to the bathroom expecting his boyfriend to be fast asleep by the time he came back.

The blonde was wide awake when Liam was done in the bathroom though, he had moved so he was half lying down underneath the blanket, having left his wet towel on the chair and Liam suddenly felt stupid for having bothered to put on sweatpants as he got in bed with his boyfriend. Then again, it wasn’t too warm in here.

“If you wanna turn back around I can do what I did before.” Niall had immediately snuggled up to Liam the second he had gotten underneath the blanket, feeling tired but not as much as he had before having showered. 

“Hmm… if you don’t mind… it felt really good.” He stayed snuggled up to Liam for a bit longer before lifting his head, stretching a bit in order to reach the older’s lips, kissing him a bit harder than the brunette had expected. “If all the other days are gonna be like this I don’t think I ever wanna go back home again.”

“Me neither… “ This was kinda sad to think about, but Niall turned back onto his front right after he had stopped kissing Liam so the brunette decided to just let it be, pushing the blanket down so he could reach Niall’s back. Not too far though because he didn’t want the blonde to be cold or anything, but it was definitely noticeable that he hadn’t bothered to put on any clothes. “Are my hands too cold?”

“No, they’re really warm actually… thank you.” Liam couldn’t help the smile spreading across his face as he kept rubbing and massaging Niall’s back and neck. There was nothing better in this world than making Niall feel good and happy and the younger boy was always so appreciative about every single thing that Liam gave him, no matter how small. “I love you so much...”

“What, because I’m giving you a massage?” Though the older boy chuckled, his stomach was filling with butterflies already and he made sure to press a kiss between his boyfriend’s shoulder blades for having said that. 

“That too, but like… I mean, all of this was your idea and you invited me and I had a lot of fun today and I’m sure the next few days are gonna be even better, like… I would have never been able to imagine what it’d be like for us if we could do whatever we wanted in public and it’s maybe kinda sad but on the other hand, I’m just really glad we’re here.” That had definitely been unexpected, but Liam wasn’t going to complain of course, even if Niall was just mumbling into the pillow and sounding very close to sleep already, it didn’t change the fact that he had sounded very genuine.

“I should have definitely suggested it sooner… I’ve been thinking about it for a while but I wasn’t sure if maybe I’d be going too fast for you so I waited. But hey, we can do this more often, as often as you want really.” Liam was being completely serious even though realistically, they couldn’t do this too often because of Niall’s family probably getting suspicious, but... Liam could dream, right?

“We should just never go back home.” The blonde mumbled into the pillow, causing the brunette’s stomach to drop and he was about to comment on it had Niall not suddenly changed the topic to something more than unexpected. “This is kinda getting me hard.”

“Seriously, Niall? I thought you were about to fall asleep.” Well, Liam definitely couldn’t think about what the blonde had just said before now because he was trying not to laugh at him, not quite sure if the younger boy had been serious or not.

“I can’t help it, you’re rubbing your hands all over me and we haven’t done anything for a few days.” True, they hadn’t had any of their houses all to themselves in a while and before that Niall had been sick, so there was probably some built up frustration, something Liam had noticed as well but he had thought they’d at least wait until tomorrow night. Or tomorrow morning at least. “I know you’re tired but if I blow you-“

“You don’t have to do something for me if you wanna have sex, Nialler.” This should have been clear, right? Liam was really confused until the blonde suddenly turned to his side so they could look at each other properly, his cheeks slightly flushed and the older boy had no idea what any of this was about. They had had sex often enough and Niall was never embarrassed about it, hell, he didn’t even bother putting on clothes anymore for bed, so why would he be blushed now? “What’s wrong?”

“Ummm… “ The blonde started, looking away from Liam’s face before he explained himself and the brunette felt a bit stupid for not having guessed it already. “Remember our conversation a whole while back… when you were joking about kinks and stuff?” 

“Oh.” Right, now Liam couldn’t help the smirk on his face when he realized what it was that the blonde wanted and in all honesty, the brunette shouldn’t have made him wait this long for it but he was just having so much fun teasing his boyfriend. “I mean, I’m not sure what you mean, can you maybe just say it?”

“You _know_ what I mean, Li.” Niall groaned, pressing his face back into the pillow while Liam just laughed, his stomach twisting a bit in excitement though. He had really been wanting to do this from the first moment he had suggested it and knowing how eager Niall was for it made Liam wanna do it even more. “Are you really gonna make me ask, _again_?”

“How else am I gonna know if we mean the same thing? Maybe you’ve thought of a new kink and want me to pee on you or-“

“Okay, maybe I’m not horny anymore.” The blonde interrupted, seemingly annoyed now and Liam felt a bit bad as he decided to just give in, leaning down a bit in order to kiss the younger boy’s head before half whispering into his ear, trying to sound as erotic as somehow possible. So, not at all.

“You really want me to, huh? Want me to eat you out?” There was a shudder going through Niall’s body, but he still huffed and pretended to be upset, making Liam smile when he simply nodded against his own arm.

Liam slowly sat up, only pushing the blanket down further Niall’s body because he was already in the right position anyways, running his hand up and down his back for a moment, admiring his naked body before moving down to the younger’s legs, making sure he was spreading them a little bit more to give Liam easier access. He had done this before to other guys, but only twice or something and it had been quite a while. Then again, no one seemed to have ever done it to Niall, so Liam kinda felt really excited for the blonde as well.

“You really want me to, yeah?” Just to make sure, Liam waited for Niall to give him a rather quiet “Yes” before leaning down to kiss one of the younger’s arse cheeks, laughing when it made Niall sigh with impatience. “I thought you like when I take my time.”

“When did I ever say that?” Right, Liam was just teasing again, softly running his fingernails down the back of Niall’s thighs, making him shiver a bit. “Li, can you just… put your mouth on me?”

“I just did.” The brunette joked, kissing the small of Niall’s back but not leaving the blonde enough time to complain again as he rubbed his finger down between the younger’s arse cheek, rubbing over his hole for a moment and making Niall jerk. This bit was very familiar, but Niall usually went so crazy for Liam fingering him that the brunette had no idea what to expect now.

He started off slowly, sucking two fingers into his mouth before going back to circling Niall’s hole, already feeling the blonde pushing his arse back, his breath going heavier when Liam let his fingers dip in a little bit before deciding that he had put his boyfriend through enough torture. Just to make things easier, Liam got down on his stomach, making sure to spread Niall’s legs a bit more before spreading his cheeks, softly blowing against the sensitive, wet skin. Fuck.

“Li… “ Niall’s voice was almost only a breath and Liam could only imagine how desperate he was right now and just because he really wanted to give the blonde anything he wanted, he didn’t hesitate much longer before leaning down, pressing his lips against Niall’s hole, sucking.

Though Liam wasn’t even doing much yet, he already got a quiet moan out of the blonde, motivating him to dig his thumbs deeper into the younger’s skin, spreading him wider for better access as he licked a stripe over the blonde’s hole, making the blonde squirm a bit as he clearly struggled to get enough air into his lunges for a second. 

“Fuck… again, please.” He sounded more than just desperate, so of course Liam did him the favor, making sure to use more spit the next time for an easier glide and Niall went absolutely crazy for it. They had done a lot of sexual things in the past, but nothing had ever gotten the blonde so turned on so damn quickly and Liam would be lying if he said that he didn’t feel kind of proud.

Liam made sure to keep the blonde down a bit so he wouldn’t push back too suddenly as he pointed his tongue to try and push it inside the younger boy, only letting it slip in a bit before pulling right back and gently biting the soft skin of Niall’s ass because he would always whine and want more whenever Liam sucked on and bit into his neck to mark him up. 

“What do you want, Ni?” The brunette asked after a few minutes, giving Niall a second to catch his breath while he was just lazily fucking him with one fingers, just to stretch him a bit more for his tongue.

“Just… use your tongue… _please_ … it feels so fucking good… fuck… “ Niall clearly wasn’t embarrassed anymore, he sounded more as if he would have made Liam continue to eat him out in case the brunette hadn’t carried on, but luckily for him, there was no need to do that. 

The blonde was almost wailing by the time Liam sucked on his hole again and pressed his tongue back inside him, sneaking a finger down to his taint to softly rub a fingernail across it while he was fucking the blonde with his tongue. Niall was moaning so loudly above Liam that the brunette was kinda afraid now that somebody might have heard them, but then again, this was the first time they could really be as loud as they wanted because they didn’t have to consider any neighbors or something and why not make use of that? 

“ _Fuck… Liammm… please_.” No idea what Niall wanted him to do, but Liam carried on anyways, suddenly getting crazy ideas as he pushed in a finger alongside his tongue, stretching the younger’s hole even more and making him whine again as he attempted to push his ass more into Liam’s face. “’m… so clo- _fuck_ … “

He couldn’t speak anymore and Liam definitely took that as a compliment even though his tongue was already cramping a little bit as he pulled out once more to lick over the younger’s stretched hole and all the way down to his balls while keeping him filled with his fingers. Liam was so hard just from doing this, hearing Niall coming undone from his tongue and fingers, the way he could barely hold back now.

“’m g-gonna… “ Niall was so close that when Liam put his tongue back inside him at the same time as somehow managing to get his hand underneath the younger boy, it only took for him to get a light grip around Niall’s erection before the blonde was coming all over Liam’s hand while moaning his name. 

Liam made sure to keep on fucking the blonde with his tongue while he was riding out his orgasm, but Niall clearly felt oversensitive afterwards as he tried to pull away and Liam lifted his head, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand as he grinned up at the blonde when he turned to look at him. “And, was it as good as you thought it would be?”

“Fuck, Liam.” Was all Niall said, kinda looking and sounding mind-blown as well as breathless, but he barely hesitated before making sure to turned around and sit up just so he could kiss the brunette, immediately licking into his mouth as he pulled him down with him and Liam easily obliged. 

Niall’s hand was in his pants before the brunette could have even prepared himself, moaning into the younger’s mouth when his hand wrapped around his aching erection to jerk him off in a quick, unsteady pace. It was really messy and uncoordinated because of the position they were in and Liam had to make sure to leave Niall enough space in between them because god knew he wouldn’t have wanted the younger boy to stop touching him right now. 

He was literally SO close when Niall suddenly pushed rather hard against his shoulder, pulling his hand out of Liam’s pants and the brunette would have whined had he not realized why the younger boy wanted him to turn onto his back. “You don’t have t-“

“Shut up.” Clearly, Niall didn’t care if Liam was trying to tell him he didn’t need to do this just because Liam had eaten him out, so the brunette lied down on his stomach and Niall had pulled his sweatpants down enough to reveal his engorged dick, his lips wrapping around it a moment later.

Fuck, he was so bloody good at this, Liam’s eyes were rolling into the back of his head while Niall was sucking him off, hand wrapped around the base as he bopped his head, pulling down the foreskin to nibble on the sensitive skin because he knew just how much Liam was into that. No matter how many times Niall sucked him off, Liam still always came as quickly as the very first time.

He could barely warn the blonde before coming down his throat but Niall always swallowed anyways and his cheeks would get really pink as if he was really enjoying himself as much as Liam did. Liam couldn’t help the rather loud moan when he came in steady pulses while Niall was still bopping his head, licking the older’s dick clean afterwards until Liam gently pushed him off. “Fuck, baby… “

“Best vacation ever, huh?” Niall asked with a grin as he crawled back up to let himself fall into Liam’s arms and the brunette couldn’t have agreed any more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry this is a bit late, im working on a paper right now and forgot to look at the time! hope you all enjoyed the chapter <3


	12. Chapter 12

Niall woke up at some point because he felt really cold and the blanket seemed to be nowhere even near his body. It was dark in the room because Liam had probably pulled the curtains after Niall had fallen asleep, so it actually took the blonde a moment to realize where he was, that he wasn’t only not at Liam’s or his own house but actually not even in the same country. And honestly, that was maybe the biggest relief ever.

Still, the blonde had never bothered to put on clothes last night and he was absolutely freezing. Maybe it was because they weren’t used to the bed or something, or the fact that the blanket was too big, but Niall had to actually collect it from the very bottom of the bed in almost complete darkness, making sure to put it back over Liam as well when he lied back down. For a moment or two, Niall just lied there on his back, actually not even wanting to know how late it was because he had no desire to go anywhere at all.

Somehow though, he was still feeling a bit cold even with the blanket, so he turned around to where Liam was sleeping with his back facing the younger boy and Niall made sure to press himself as close as possible, wrapping his arm around Liam’s waist so he could find his hand. Right, this was definitely a lot better, Liam was always warm and they had no clothes in between them so spooning the older boy from behind definitely helped.

It hadn’t been Niall’s intention to wake Liam or anything, but he kinda did when he pressed his lips against the older’s neck, breathing him in because he really enjoyed being so close to him and not having to worry about having to separate once it was morning.

“’s the matter?” Liam mumbled, sounding as if he was talking in his sleep actually and Niall felt bad but on the other hand, it didn’t seem as if Liam was annoyed with him or anything.

“I’m just cold.” The blonde answered truthfully, whispering against Liam’s skin and thinking that that was that but Liam suddenly pulled his hand out of Niall’s, turning around a lot faster than the blonde would have thought he’d be able to after having been asleep 10 seconds ago.

Liam turned until they were facing each other, wrapping Niall up so tightly into his arms that they were basically squished against each other now, but the blonde didn’t even think about complaining. “Better?”

“Yeah… sorry for waking you.” Just because his feet were also kinda cold, Niall made sure to slide his leg in between the older boy’s and Liam didn’t try to pull away upon having the younger’s cold skin touching his own.

“’s fine… how late is it?” Well, definitely not late enough for them to get up, they had actually put an alarm last night before going to sleep just so they wouldn’t waste the day or anything, but Liam’s phone had stayed quiet so far. 

“I don’t know… I think it’s still dark outside.” There were curtains, but they would have let it an at least some light, however, it was pitch black in the room. Which was fine of course, Niall didn’t care anymore now that he was slowly warming up and everything smelled like Liam, he already had his eyes closed once more, ready to maybe sleep a little longer. “We should go back to sleep.”

“I kinda gotta pee.” Liam admitted after a moment of hesitation and Niall couldn’t help the tiny whine that escaped him, somehow automatically pressing himself more tightly against the other boy. “But I guess I can hold back.”

“Well, I don’t want you to pee yourself… “ Or on Niall, but the blonde didn’t say that of course even though it reminded him of Liam’s joke last night and then last night in general, which had been… mind blowing, to say the least.

“I’m good, don’t worry, go back to sleep, love.” Liam pressed a kiss against Niall’s forehead and the blonde sighed contently, snuggling deeper into Liam as he allowed his tiredness to take over once more.

Niall had no idea how long he had been asleep for, but when he woke up again it was definitely a lot lighter in the room and also, Liam wasn’t in bed next to him anymore. The blonde tried to keep on sleeping, but it somehow wasn’t working that well without his boyfriend holding him and despite the fact that Liam had wrapped the blanket around him pretty tightly.

“Liam?” Niall finally asked after a few moments, not really wanting to get up and check whether he was in the bathroom or not and the brunette was walking out of it a second later anyways, while brushing his teeth. “Why did you leave me?”

“You’re making it sound so dramatic.” Liam rolled his eyes while talking around his toothbrush, but he did look a bit guilty when he sat on the edge of the bed, reaching out for the blonde to sort out his messy hair. “I tried waking you but you were sleeping like a rock. We’re supposed to meet Harry and Louis for breakfast in ten minutes but we can-“

“Ugh, no, I’ll make it.” Though Niall had every intention to get up, he still waited a few more seconds before finally pulling back the blanket to go and get dressed. At least some clothes would help him to feel a bit less as if he was gonna freeze to death any moment.

The brunette did his hair while Niall was brushing his teeth next to him a few minutes later, not having shaved after the blonde had pulled a face when he had reached for his razor. He hadn’t even said one word, Liam had just thrown one look at him and probably recalled all the times Niall had told him how good he looked letting his stubble grow a bit. It kinda had a domestic feeling to it even though they were doing these things whenever they were home and by themselves as well, but knowing they could walk out of this room together while holding hands and not even having to let go once they were outside still hadn’t really gotten into Niall’s head. 

“Are you excited?” Liam definitely sounded like he was once they were in the elevator, he was sorting Niall’s hair out with the hand that Niall hadn’t claimed, probably because the blonde had refused to let Liam do his hair today. He sometimes did, but really, what was the bloody point when they were doing all these rides?

“Yeah, and I’m also definitely not as tired as yesterday so that’s good. You?” Niall wasn’t lying, he was actually very much for skipping breakfast and to just get going, but then Liam had pointed out that they would have to eat at some point and at least they’d spare themselves an argument with Harry and Louis if they went to have breakfast now. Plus, Liam surely was hungry himself and he would have still skipped breakfast just to do what Niall wanted and the blonde couldn’t have allowed that. Hell, Liam had brought him here, he had done more than enough for Niall.

“Me too. Are you gonna let me buy you some Mickey Mouse ears today?” Oh god, not that again, Niall immediately rolled his eyes when the brunette laughed. “What? I thought you wanted them.”

“I was just looking because everyone is wearing them, if _you_ want me to wear them so badly you could just say it, you know.” Maybe Niall did want to, a little bit, but he didn’t even wanna imagine what Louis would have said. 

“Okay, I want you to, so will you wear them? For me?” Liam was grinning now, his face actually pretty excited at the thought and Niall groaned, still allowing the brunette to kiss him though, right before the elevator doors opened. “I’ll just assume that was a yes.”

Niall didn’t complain because maybe he actually didn’t want to, plus Liam seemed so eager, so who was Niall to say no, right? 

It turned out that Harry and Louis hadn’t waited for them just because they were like 7 minutes late, but they still sat at breakfast together and Niall was a little bit nervous about his best friend maybe saying something about last night, because… who really knew whether these hotel walls were thick or not, right? And Niall had definitely NOT been thinking about Harry and Louis while Liam’s tongue had been inside him, just thinking about it again now almost made him squirm in his seat and made it kinda hard to concentrate.

No one said a word though or even threw them a weird look, Harry simply had already planned out stuff again, for which was Niall was kinda happy because he hadn’t really informed himself and also, he had definitely had other things to do last night. Still, Niall was of course excited to be here, he had never gone on vacation before and going with his family would have probably been totally different anyways so he had nothing to compare it with, but the blonde was still pretty damn sure that it couldn’t have possibly gotten any better. 

 

\---------------

 

“You know, I was thinking that since we’ve got so much time left here, we could also go see the city in the next few days. Only if you want to though.” Liam brought it up while they were queuing for a ride a few hours after breakfast, Harry and Louis in front of them but seemingly more concerned with some picture they had taken on Louis’ phone. 

“Can we do that?” Niall sounded a bit surprised, actually, and Liam suddenly realized that the blonde probably had no idea how close they actually were to just being in the city. How would he have known? He obviously hadn’t googled the distance between Disneyland and the Paris city center and now Liam was really glad that he had brought it up.

“Sure, there’s a train station, it doesn’t take very long.” The brunette shrugged, not quite sure if Niall was going to agree or not but the blonde’s face definitely got a bit brighter. 

“So we could actually go see the Eiffel tower and the Mona Lisa and stuff?” Okay, his eyes were definitely sparkling now and Liam couldn’t help but smile as he wrapped his arm around the blonde, squeezing him for a moment just because he was so bloody cute.

“Of course we can, whatever you want, we can go tomorrow or whenever.” They had tickets for the park for every day anyways, they hadn’t exactly been cheap and Liam had ended up paying for three of their four tickets, which nobody knew though because he had simply told Harry and Louis a lower number when they had paid him back. He would have told them the truth obviously, but it would have just caused them to complain or maybe even made them change their own plans while being here. Harry had been so excited though that Liam really wouldn’t have wanted to ruin it for him. 

“I really wanna go tomorrow, can we? If you don’t want t-“

“Ni, I was the one suggesting it, wasn’t I?” Chuckling, Liam pressed his lips against the side of Niall’s head while they were slowly moving forward in the queue, still having his arm wrapped around his boyfriend. Liam had never been physical with another guy in public, so this was a new experience both in terms of it being Niall and a boy, and he had definitely been a tiny bit nervous about the second, but turned out that it had been for nothing. No one ever even looked at them twice and even if they would have, Liam didn’t think anything could have ruined this trip for them anyways.

“Yeah, but maybe you just asked because you thought I’d want to.” The blonde shrugged, as if it was obvious or something and as if Liam would have ever done something like that and the brunette made sure to tighten his arm around the other boy. 

“I don’t care what we do, I just want you to enjoy yourself.” It was true, even though Niall was looking at Liam as if he wasn’t sure whether he fully believed him, but honestly, was there anything better in this world besides seeing Niall happy and smiling? Definitely not to Liam.

“Okay, but you do wanna enjoy yourself as well, right?” Now Niall had an eyebrow pulled up and Liam rolled his eyes, pecking the younger’s forehead because he had definitely not been kissing him for long enough today. 

“I definitely am enjoying myself, Nialler, don’t worry. I just like seeing you get all excited, it’s really cute.” Maybe Liam had said it a little bit to see the blonde blush and he had definitely achieved that, laughing when Niall rolled his eyes, hiding his pinkish face against the older boy’s neck. “What? You already knew just how cute you are.”

“Oh my god, stop it, Liam.” Niall was clearly embarrassed now and Liam wrapped his other arm around the blonde as well since they weren’t really moving forward anyways, not biting back his grin because getting Niall all flustered was definitely too much fun. 

“Why? I can’t tell my cute boyfriend that he’s the cutest boy ever?” It was so easy and Liam knew that Niall actually liked hearing him say those things, whenever they were alone, he’d start smiling like an idiot and blush like hell but he always got really cuddly and clingy afterwards, two things Liam would never say no to. 

“Liammm… “ Niall whined against the older’s neck and Liam only felt a little bit bad about having attracted the attention of the other two by laughing at his boyfriend. 

“Is this a bad moment to ask what you wanna eat afterwards?” Harry seemed amused but also confused, hopefully not having heard anything Liam had said before because Niall would have definitely gotten a little upset otherwise. 

“Not at all. Ni?” Rubbing the younger’s back a bit, Liam tried to coax the blonde into turning around, but apparently, that was the very last thing Niall wanted right now.

“I don’t care where we go, you guys can choose.” He seemed to really mean it and Liam wondered whether Niall was still hiding his face because he was blushed or because he actually enjoyed being so close to him. When Niall loosely wrapped his arms around the older’s waist, Liam kinda had his answer and it was rather hard to ignore those butterflies in his stomach going crazy. 

Liam made sure to tell Harry and Louis to decide, which luckily ended in them having a really long discussion about it seeing as none of them had anything more interesting to do right now, and Liam could go back to just holding Niall and enjoying that they were able to do this in actual public. They were forced to let go at some point and move along in the queue, but Niall seemed to have gotten over his embarrassment and now he was just being all up in Liam’s space wanting to be close and if that would have been all they had been doing the whole vacation, Liam wouldn’t have been the slightest bit unhappy about it.

 

\-------

 

“You wanna _walk_?” Niall actually couldn’t believe it, just minutes ago he had been absolutely speechless and still not being able to believe that they were actually in Paris and looking at the Eiffel Tower, but now Liam had slightly ruined his mood.

“Babe, if we take the lift it’s gonna be over in a few minutes, but if we walk then we’ll be so much happier once we’re all the way up.” Right, Liam made it sound pretty logical and he also sounded super cute while saying it, but the blonde was definitely not fully convinced.

“I was happy already before you said the word walking… “ Pouting a bit, Niall tried to give himself an internal push, because he didn’t wanna be whiny or anything or keep Liam from doing things he wanted to do because this whole vacation was about what Niall wanted already. “Fine, we can walk, but it’s your fault if I tear a muscle.”

“You’re not gonna tear a muscle, love, it’s not that far, you’ll see. I did it when I was like 10 and it wasn’t bad at all, only made me a bit dizzy.” Liam seemed really excited about Niall having agreed to walk and the blonde tried to make himself feel better by thinking about how at least they would be able to just walk up the stairs instead of having to queue an hour for the lift. Then again, who even knew if they’d already be up there by that time, Niall was still a bit unsure. “I’ll carry your bag.”

“No, it’s okay… I could probably use a bit of a work out.” Or maybe not, but Niall was going to pretend just for Liam. 

“You gotta tell me though if you really don’t wanna walk, it’s fine, we can-“

“No, I want to, it’s alright. I was just teasing you.” Maybe that wasn’t the whole truth, but Niall made sure to smile at the brunette, pressing their lips together before sliding his fingers back between the brunette’s to pull him with him. 

Liam returned the smile though Niall wasn’t sure if he had convinced him, but the older boy went with him, squeezing his hand. The first few minutes, Niall wasn’t actually doing too bad, though he did have to refrain from looking down too much because it made his stomach turn a little, making sure to keep the conversation with Liam steady so he’d be distracted. Liam definitely went a lot slower than he would have had he been alone, but Niall figured he probably didn’t mind too much, he was just glad that they were taking it slow.

Harry and Louis had decided not to come with them because apparently nobody else had never been to a city in a different country and though Niall thought that the other two were missing out, he had quickly forgotten about it fifteen minutes later. It was late afternoon now, Liam had taken Niall to see tons of places and he had kept the Eiffel Tower for last despite the younger’s weak protests. Now he was kinda glad though because it definitely was the highlight of today.

Honestly, Niall knew it was a stereotype, to say that Paris was romantic and all and he was probably really influenced by the fact that this was the very first time he and Liam were all alone and free to do whatever, but the blonde still thought that all of this was pretty romantic as well. Even while he was sweating as if he had just run a marathon while walking up those steps, but the fact that Liam still kissed him afterwards was way worth it. 

“Fuck… I’m never gonna do that again.” Niall was so done and he was also kinda sure he had torn a muscle or something, especially once they had reached the first platform and Liam had informed him that they had another one to get to. Needless to say, Niall definitely needed a break before going anywhere at all in the next few minutes. “I’m so out of shape.”

“You’re not, we just went really fast.” Liam was so sweet, trying to make Niall feel better and everything, handing him something to drink and pretending like they hadn’t been passed by at least 30 other people.

“You literally look like you’ve just been walking down the streets.” It was true, but then again, Liam played football multiple times a week and he was in way better shape than anybody else Niall knew, so he probably wasn’t the best example. “I need to go to the gym or something.”

“Or join the football team.” Liam joked, because he always made that joke and sometimes Niall wondered whether deep down the brunette would have actually wanted him to do it. “No, but c’mon, Ni, it really is pretty far up. I’m proud of you.”

Niall wanted to be annoyed, but it was so hard to just pretend when Liam was rubbing his back and smiling and stuff, like, the blonde would have expected a joke but it never came. Of course Liam was always sweet and supportive and caring, but Niall still felt as if they had grown closer somehow, despite the fact that it had only been such few days of them being here, but then again, they hadn’t even spent more than a few minutes apart during that time. “Thanks, I’m proud of me too. I still think I tore a muscle somewhere.”

“I’ll give you a massage once we’re back in the hotel, okay?” It sounded very serious and Niall suddenly couldn’t help wishing he would have already been lying face down in bed with Liam’s hands all over him.

“You mean like the one you gave me the first night or… a _real_ one?” Niall was joking, but then again, he wouldn’t have said no to either option.

“I can also eat you out again if you want me to.” Liam shrugged, saying those words as if they were talking about the weather or something, laughing at the blonde when he quickly took a sip of water to hide his slight embarrassment. “Oh, Nialler.”

“What? It’s just… weird when you say it like that. I mean… this is supposed to be romantic up here, right? And you’re talking about eating my ass.” That only made Liam laugh even more and Niall tried not to join because he was attempting to make a point here. 

“Was I not being romantic enough for you when-“

“Don’t say it again… Jesus.” They needed to stop this conversation before Niall’s would turn even hotter, he just couldn’t help himself and it’s not like he was really ever embarrassed about anything anymore when it came to sex with Liam, but this was still very new for him. Plus, he had had to almost beg for it until two nights ago. 

“I mean, I know I was really good, but… you can just call me by my name, you know.” Liam of course thought is own joke was _hilarious_ and Niall rolled his eyes, at the same time being able to recall the feeling of Liam’s tongue inside him though, which was kinda distracting considering where they were right now. 

“I think I wanna go to the top now.” Niall simply got up, while Liam was still chuckling, but he allowed the brunette to grab a hold of his hand when they were heading for the lift and the older boy threw a few very meaningful looks at the blonde once they were surrounded by people, trying to make the blonde laugh and sadly, he kinda succeeded and they got a few very weird stares. 

No matter how much Niall had been complaining and sworn he would have never done this again, once they were all the way on the top, it all seemed to have been more than just worth it. Niall still felt a bit dizzy because of how high up they were, but Liam had a pretty secure arm around his waist, so the blonde let himself fall into the older boy a bit because it definitely made him feel a lot safer. Not that he would have been able to fall off or anything, obviously, but having Liam there pretty much helped in any situation.

“Harry and Louis are idiots for not coming.” They really were, Niall couldn’t stop being impressed while admiring the view, so distracted that Liam’s lips against his neck almost made him flinch.

“I’m glad they didn’t come.” The older boy’s breath felt hot against Niall’s skin and he let himself fall back more against his boyfriend when Liam wrapped his arms around him from behind, kissing up his neck and jaw until he reached Niall’s ear. “I love you.” 

Niall felt his stomach go warm when Liam whispered into his ear, a stupid smile forming on his face as he turned his head until he was able to reach Liam’s lips with his own, only giving him a peck though but not opening his eyes just yet. “I love you too. Thank you for bringing me here.”

“Thanks for agreeing to come, would’ve been pretty boring to come here all by myself.” Had Niall had his eyes open, he would have rolled them at Liam, but instead, he just kissed him again because they kinda hadn’t kissed since this morning anyways.

“Don’t ruin the moment.” The blonde whispered against Liam’s mouth and the older boy mumbled back a “Sorry” that almost made Niall laugh. Almost. 

“So I take it as in if I ever wanna propose to you I best do it here?” No idea why that was the first thing that came to Liam’s mind once they had pulled apart, but Niall felt strangely flattered that the older boy was bringing up that topic again after the blonde had been so negative about it just yesterday. 

“No, we already did that now, you’ll have to think about something new, sorry, I don’t make the rules.” Niall joked, laughing when he saw Liam’s face change, a fake pout on his lips. 

“What’s more romantic than this though? Then just say it if you don’t wanna marry me.” He wasn’t being serious, it was obvious, but Niall still felt a tuck to his heart and maybe he was being a bit crazy, but had Liam honestly proposed to him right now, he would have so said yes. 

“Awww, I would marry you but Louis would kill me if he wasn’t there to film it.” Actually… that was a real problem Niall might have one day, then again, who knew if he’d ever get married, he was in love with Liam and he knew the older boy felt the same the other way around, but things were complicated and nothing was ever written in stone, was it? Just the thought though got Niall wanting to kiss Liam again, hold on tighter to him because he didn’t know if maybe this was the last time they were going to be all alone like this. 

“Okay, so not only is the Eiffel Tower not good enough for you, we also have to invite your best friend to film us?” Liam had his eyebrow pulled up and when he said it like this, Niall did realize it had sounded quite stupid, despite it being a joke. “Any more requests? Maybe… a private jet?”

“I’d love a private jet actually, I’ll put it on my list.” Niall had turned back around, keeping his hands over Liam’s on his stomach though because it was just so nice when the older boy was just holding him like this, not making any intentions of letting go anytime soon. 

“What list?” Now the brunette sounded seriously worried, as if he wasn’t sure anymore if they were joking around or not and Niall had to bite his lip so he wouldn’t laugh.

“Of all the requirements you gotta fulfill before you can propose to me.” The blonde had just randomly remembered Liam’s words about a month before they had started calling the thing going on between them dating, and he would have been damned had he not taken the opportunity now to pay him back. 

“So I gotta qualify before I can marry you, hm?” Liam had obviously relaxed now after Niall had said that, but he was still playing along to the blonde’s amusement.

“No, before you can _propose_ to me.” Niall made sure to make it sound as if it was obvious and he would have rolled his eyes at Liam had he not had his head on the brunette’s shoulder and been way too comfortable to even just think about turning around. “You gotta decide if it’s worth the risk, I guess.”

“Right, makes sense. How many of your lovers already had to go through that?” This was so stupid, but Niall couldn’t help feeling strangely excited about this conversation, not because of Liam playing along with his stupid game but rather because they were still somehow talking about marriage and because of Liam having brought it up so casually, as if being with Niall for many more years wasn’t anything strange in his mind. 

“All 25 of them.” The blonde had said it without hesitation, kinda laughing over his own joke when he heard Liam fake gasp. “Yeah, and then I just said no to all of them and kept all the things they bought me, it’s why I’m always so stylish and stuff.”

“Mhm, of course.” Liam snorted quietly and Niall would have maybe complained about that had they not just been playing around anyways.

“But if you try really hard, who knows… I might say yes.” Was it pathetic that he really would have? After only dating for such a short amount of time and the fact that only two other people knew about it? 

“Well… “ Liam started, and Niall was kinda expecting to hear something really sweet now, but of course, it was Liam and he would have never let the blonde get away with that. “Then I guess I should have proposed to Harry a while ago when we were still dating, damn it… “

“Liam!” Niall couldn’t help it, despite the fact that he knew it had been a joke, he immediately turned around in the older’s arms to glare at him, only seeing the older boy laugh though. 

“Oh my god, you’re still getting jealous over that stupid joke, Nialler?” Well… 

“No?” Yes, very much actually. “I’m gonna tell him you’re joking about dating him all the time once we get back.”

“I only did it twice, baby, and the first time was really only because I genuinely thought you were in love with Louis or something. And then you refused to admit you got jealous because of me and I just wanted you to tell me so I could have kissed you two days earlier.” Right, Niall had acted like a right idiot back then, he had been so damn embarrassed about everything and then he had spent all night at work worrying about Liam knowing about his crush. If only he had known they’d be laughing about it now, on top of the fucking Eiffel Tower.

“I’ve had a crush on you for two bloody years, I couldn’t have just said it to your face after we finally started hanging out. I was actually really afraid you’d never talk to me again after that.” But then the exact opposite had happened and somehow Niall wished he could have gone back to the first time they had kissed, not because he wasn’t perfectly happy with the way things were right now, just because he had been dreaming about it for so long and then it had actually happened. 

“Awww, baby, you’re so cute.” No idea how Liam had managed to turn around the whole situation so quickly, Niall just knew that he was a bit embarrassed when Liam kissed him on the forehead, right before making him blush. “I’m like your real life prince Charming, right?”

“Oh my god… “ It was kinda true though, which made things even worse and Niall blushed more while Liam’s grin was growing wider, very obviously enjoying the fact that he was calling himself prince Charming or something. 

“What? Why are you so embarrassed? We all know just how amazing I am.” God, now this was starting again, Liam was such a dork but he was so cute at the same time and Niall didn’t know if he wanted to be embarrassed, amused, flattered or maybe all of it at once. “But don’t worry, I thought you were really cute when I first saw you as well.”

“Yeah, but you didn’t stalk all my social media every single night and told your friends you had no time just to watch me play football, did you?” No idea why Niall said it out loud, maybe because Liam had already known those things already or maybe simply because the blonde really enjoyed whenever he was making Liam smile by admitting how obsessed he had been with him. 

“This isn’t a competition, Nialler, I’m pretty sure I was staring at you often enough and planning on what to say without you noticing.” Liam very obviously loved having this conversation and Niall had decided he didn’t mind anymore, as long as Liam wasn’t going to call himself prince Charming anymore. 

“Okay, but did you cry because you thought you’d never get to be with me?” Okay, this had gone too far, Niall noticed it pretty much the second it was out and he saw Liam’s face changing, about to take it back but it was so too late anyways.

“Did you… did you really?” Now the brunette sounded worried, great, Niall had not only ruined the mood, he had also revealed even more embarrassing shit from before he had officially known Liam even though he hadn’t thought that that was actually possible. 

“Ummm… No, I was just jo-“

“Oh, baby.” Before Niall was even able to finish, Liam was already hugging him, pretty damn tight as well and the blonde did hug him back, but he was still determined to at least make it sound not as bad. 

“It was just a crush, and I only cried once and I was a little bit drunk, it’s no big deal.” Maybe Niall hadn’t been drunk, but he might have been. 

“Still, makes me really mad at myself for not saying anything way sooner. I definitely wanted to.” Now Liam sounded genuinely guilty, despite the fact that they were literally dating and on vacation together.

“I could have said something as well.” Or maybe not, Niall had actually been thinking about it back then, but then he had convinced himself Liam hated him. 

“No, you would have screwed it up.” What?!

“Excuse me?” Niall would have let go had Liam not been holding him this tightly, laughing a bit and making sure to apologize a second later.

“Sorry, I’m joking… Mr. ‘I’m going to the bus station even though I don’t know where it is just so we don’t have to sit in the same car.’” God, did Liam have to seriously bring that up now?!

“I was just thinking that maybe you just offered to drive me to be polite and I was giving you an easy way out.” Or something like that at least, Niall couldn’t really remember what he had been thinking about the first night they had ever talked to each other, he just knew that it got his stomach all fluttery whenever he thought about it. “Anyways, I wouldn’t have screwed it up, you literally had to wait until your friend was puking into Harry’s mom’s bushes and for your phone to run out of charge just to talk to me.”

“You know the thing is actually… my phone had full charge, I just didn’t know what to say so I said the first thing that came to my mind.” Oh. 

“You know… if you keep telling me stories like this I might overthink what I said about my list of requirements before.” Seriously though, Niall didn’t know if maybe Liam was just saying those things now to make him happy, but if he was, then he was definitely succeeding. 

“Okay, wait, I got something else. You know when I was with Harry at the restaurant you work at? It’s probably my fault that he figured out that something was going on between us because after that I decided I really wanna start talking to you so I tried to subtly hint that I want him to introduce us and then he never did and I had to do it myself but he didn’t know of course and then he thought I was just really obsessed with you.” Okay, now Niall really wasn’t sure anymore if Liam was being serious or not, but the way he said it kinda made the blonde think that he was and if that was true… holy shit. 

“Are you just saying that to make me happy?” Niall couldn’t help but ask, they had pulled apart now so they could look at each other and the blonde tried to somehow read Liam’s face, see if he was joking, but he remained very serious, one hand cupping Niall’s cheek.

“I wouldn’t lie to make you happy, babe. It’s the truth, you can ask Harry. Why’d you think he was so obsessed with introducing us even after we already talked? But I couldn’t really tell him about it either because I never realized how dangerous it’d be for us to talk in person because of your brother before you told me.” Liam shrugged, his smile suddenly coming back, but not in a mocking way at all or as if he had just been kidding. “And now we’re here, in Paris.”

“I wish we’d never have to go back.” It was wrong to say that because it kinda ruined the mood, but Niall had said it without thinking about it, Liam’s face falling a bit almost at an instant. 

“Me too, Ni. But… I’m gonna talk to my mom when we get back and we’ll see what she says about what happened and maybe… maybe there’s a way.” Liam sounded oddly positive when they both knew nothing would ever change, but Niall simply nodded, allowing the older boy to kiss him on the lips, thumb brushing across the younger’s cheek bone. “I love you.”

“I love you too, Li… “ Still, Niall couldn’t quite bring himself to smile so he made sure to connect their lips again instead, trying not to think about going back home in a few days because he was pretty sure that he had never been happier than on this trip. Maybe that was kinda scary to think about, but then again, Niall had never had a relationship like this, he had never felt so strongly for anybody else besides Liam and what they had it was just… special, as stupid as that sounded, and Niall would have given _anything_ for them to be able to be together in front of everyone they knew.

 

\------------

 

“I’m surprised you managed to tear yourself away from Niall.” Harry was laughing when Liam just rolled his eyes as a reaction, deep down though he was feeling a little bit lost without his boyfriend already, after just five minutes or something. “Or maybe I’m more surprised the other way around, he never stroke me as the clingy type.”

“He’s definitely gotten more clingy since we got here.” Actually, Liam didn’t know why he was discussing this with Harry while they were going to get some food after they had all collectively decided that they didn’t like the Hotel menu. Only problem had been, Niall had already showered and his hair had been dripping wet and Louis had actually fallen asleep and Harry hadn’t wanted to go by himself. Then again, half an hour without Niall probably wouldn’t kill Liam, but it’d come pretty damn close. 

“I think it’s really cute.” Somehow, Harry seemed to really mean it and though Liam threw a pretty confused look at him, the younger just shrugged anyways. They had to the take the shuttle bus to go back to where the park was in order to buy food, so that meant they had to wait for it to come first and Niall was already texting Liam telling him he missed him. Kinda jokingly of course, but seeing as Liam actually felt quite the same, he knew there was at least a hint of truth in those texts. “Remind me to call my mom in a few minutes, she keeps texting me to see how we’re doing and demanding pictures and stuff and I’ve only sent her pictures of Louis so far but I think she wants some of you and Niall as well.”

“I’m sure Niall wouldn’t mind.” He had already wanted to take like 10 billion pictures with Liam, which was more than fine for the brunette, only for as long as the blonde sent them to him as well of course. “We should have asked her to come, if she really wanted to go to Disneyland as badly as you.”

“I don’t think so, but she has to work and stuff, so… also, I don’t want her to come and then have it bring up bad memories or something because of the last time we’ve been here.” Right, because it had been after she had gotten divorced, but there was more to it than Harry had said in front of Louis and Niall when Louis had asked him a while ago. Harry’s parents had lost a child, a few days after it had been born and Harry himself didn’t even know any details about it because he had told Liam that he was too afraid to ask, he just knew that the death had played a big part in the divorce. Liam knew about the whole thing only because he had been at Harry’s house years ago and then asked a very stupid question about some picture he had seen in Harry’s house of a grave and needless to say… it hadn’t ended well. He had been a child though, and what child wouldn’t ask about a picture of a grave in his friend’s house? They had since gotten rid of it though, as far as Liam knew. “Also, I don’t think she would have wanted to come, but she was really excited for you and Niall when I told her about it.”

“Seriously?” It sounded very unbelievable to Liam, that BOTH Harry’s and Louis’ parents were this accepting and supportive, and it also made him kinda jealous, because if at least either his or Niall’s parents had been that way… they sure as hell would have had a billion less problems.

“Of course, why wouldn’t she? I’m really happy for you guys as well.” That was the thing about Harry, he just really wanted people to get along and to be happy and maybe that’s why Liam and him had immediately made friends when they had met. Because Liam hadn’t really had friends like that before and of course he had other friends as well but Harry was definitely one of his best. Plus, ever since Liam had started dating Niall, he did feel like they had gotten closer as well. 

“Thanks… so you’d probably come again as my alibi next time?” It was a little bit of a joke, but not really, because Harry and Louis kinda were their alibis, but it’s not like they weren’t hanging out together or anything so Liam didn’t actually feel bad. Plus, they had actually gone were Harry had wanted to go the most, so…

“Sure, anytime. As long as we can afford it, ‘cos I know you’d probably take Niall on a yacht if he’d let you.” Very true, then again, it’s not like Liam was super rich or anything, but his family was very wealthy and he could have potentially taken Niall on a yacht if he were somebody else who he could have told his parents about. 

“He’d literally kill me.” Liam got it, he really did and he never wanted Niall to feel like Liam was always offering to pay because he thought the blonde couldn’t afford anything because in reality, he did it because he really, really wanted to. 

“Probably. But I think he’d miss you a little bit too much to really do it.” Upon saying it, Harry was looking down at Liam’s phone in his hands and the brunette kinda panicked slightly as he read the message Niall had sent him, only reading _when are u gonna be back :(_. “I can go alone, if-“

“No, it’s fine, he’s just joking around. And we’ll be back in like… half an hour or something.” Right when Liam said it, the bus actually came and he had no time anymore to think about whether he should have taken Harry’s offer serious or not. 

Harry called his mom once they were on the bus, so Liam just settled for texting Niall back and trying not to miss him too much because he felt like maybe this was getting a little bit out of hand. Then again, they probably wouldn’t have been this way if they could have been together whenever they had wanted to at home, so that was a good excuse, right? Even if Liam kinda felt like he would have felt this way anyways, just because it was Niall and because he was absolutely crazy about this boy.

They didn’t have a lot of food choices so they went to McDonald’s because it was the cheapest and they all liked it. Liam probably got too much for himself and Niall, but he wouldn’t have wanted the blonde to go to bed hungry and he kinda felt like Niall had texted him that he only wanted like two things because Liam was the one paying.

Liam and Niall had eaten while they had been in the city today, but that was literally hours in the past and Liam could barely remember it now because the thing clearest in his mind was still the Eiffel Tower visit. There had just been something about it, about Niall’s overwhelmed reactions and his smile and how he had held onto Liam so the brunette wouldn’t let go of him and even though they had had a bit of a more serious talk as well… it was just another part of what Liam loved so much about them. That they could just talk about anything and joke around and be all cuddly and it always felt like they had been doing these things for years or something.

When they got back to Harry’s and Louis’ hotel room, Liam half expected Niall to have fallen asleep as well because he hadn’t texted back in a while, but he actually almost dropped the bag of food when Niall immediately came over to hug him, so tightly that it almost hurt. “Hi… “

“Hey, love. Everything okay?” Liam couldn’t help but laugh, kind of out of relief because he had definitely missed the boy but also a bit because it made him feel really happy to know that the blonde had been so eager to see him as well. 

“Yeah, everything’s good, except Louis put on the stupidest movie and he said if I wanted to watch something else I need to go to our room.” Niall was rolled his eyes once they had pulled apart again, his smile coming back though when he saw how much food Liam had gotten. “Is that for only us?”

“Yeah, Harry got the stuff for him and Louis. I figured you weren’t really being that honest when I asked what you wanted.” Raising an eyebrow at the blonde, Niall simply shrugged, but there was definitely some pink creeping into his face. 

“I still think you should let me pay you back because-“

“Maybe I got all of this for just me, who knows.” Liam smirked when the blonde simply stopped trying to protest because he knew there was no use. Instead, he leaned in to kiss the brunette’s cheek, sending goosebumps down Liam’s spine because they hadn’t touched in like 45 minutes or something. 

Harry and Louis had already started eating before Liam and Niall joined, still watching that movie that Niall apparently seemed to hate, but he actually never complained again, he simply squeezed himself on the armchair with Liam, their legs kinda tangling up and it wasn’t the most comfortable position either, but Liam wouldn’t have wanted it any other way. 

 

\----------------

 

The next few days went by a lot faster than Niall would have liked, he kinda hated that they fell in sort of a routine, that he kind of got used to being with Liam every second of the day and he stopped thinking about whether he was allowed to touch him or not. Because almost as soon as Niall realized he had never been happier, it was already time to go home again and he was trying really hard not to be a fucking baby about it, but it was kind of impossible.

What made matters even worse than they already were, they wouldn’t even be able to see each other again until two days later because Liam had a family thing going on and then their break would already be over again and it’d be back exactly to how it had been before. It’s not that Niall would have regretted taking this trip, it’s just… it had shown him very clearly what exactly he was missing out on and how things could have been if everything was different. 

“You okay, babe?” Liam sounded sleepy when he asked, he had fallen asleep on Niall’s shoulder while they had been on the plane, which had kinda been a good thing because that meant no one had seen the few tears the blonde had had to wipe. Which was stupid, really, they lived only a few minutes apart in the same damn town and neither of them was going away, it’s just… maybe that made it even worse.

“Yeah, uh… I still gotta go to the bathroom.” They had just gotten off the plane and Niall was definitely holding Liam’s hand way too tightly and he also didn’t need the toilet at all. Obviously, they couldn’t leave together, so Louis’ mom was picking up Louis and Niall and then Liam was paying for a taxi for himself and Harry and it was stressing the blonde out a little bit, to think that they were only five to ten minutes away from walking out of the exit, separately. 

“Okay… do you want me to come?” The brunette made it sound as if he knew about Niall’s excuse very well and the blonde simply shrugged, his eyes fixated on Louis’ back a few meters in front of them, trying not to be jealous about the fact that Harry was surely going to get the taxi driver to let him get out at Louis’ house. “Baby… we can talk on FaceTime when we’re home, okay?” 

“It’s not the same.” Niall shrugged again, as if he didn’t care all too much but he actually just wanted to cry. “I actually don’t need the bathroom.”

“Niall… “ Liam started but he didn’t finish, he just let out a sigh and the blonde refused to look over at him, the knot in his stomach tightening with pretty much every single step they took. 

They didn’t talk anymore for the next few minutes, only when they had reached Harry and Louis, who had stopped walking at the last possible point for any of them to be seen together, both of their eyes on Niall’s face because it was probably kinda red but the blonde didn’t even care. There was nothing in this world he wanted to do less than say goodbye to Liam right now and to let go of his hand. 

“So… “ Harry started, looking from Niall to Liam and back and the blonde knew he couldn’t drag this out for much longer so he slowly pulled his hand out of Liam’s, instead curling his arm around the older’s waist and Liam pulled him into a tight hug before the blonde had been ready. Okay, this felt like one of them was going away to another continent for the next 3 years instead of them not seeing each other for like two days. 

Niall didn’t know what to say, he just had his face pressed against Liam’s neck, trying to breathe normally though it was pretty damn hard. “Don’t cry, Ni.”

“I’m not… “ The blonde mumbled back, but while he was doing it he could already feel a tear spilling over. He was also really tired, so it’s not that he was THAT much of a crybaby, he was just a bit emotional today and he’d surely be fine again tomorrow or something, but he wasn’t anywhere near fine right now. “I’m just… I already miss you.”

“I’m right here, love, and we’ll talk once we’re both home and we’ll see each other again in only two days and it’s gonna be alright, yeah? It just hurts because we’ve been together every single second the past few days but it’s gonna be fine, I promise. And if you really can’t stand it, I’m sure I can sneak away and-“

“No, it’s fine… “ Niall didn’t want Liam to get in trouble for him, and he also didn’t wanna risk Liam’s parents to get suspicious or anything because that’d just make things even harder than they already were anyways. “I love you… “

“I love you too, baby.” Liam kissed the top of his head, his breath warming up Niall’s scalp and the blonde held on tighter, keeping his eyes pressed closed tightly, trying to remember this moment as much as somehow possible. Of course Liam had hugged him many times before and the blonde knew what it felt like, but this would be the last time they were hugging without sneaking around somewhere for God knew how long. 

When they pulled apart a minute later, Niall barely dared looking at Liam’s face. The brunette wiped a tear from his face with his thumb, making the blonde shudder a bit and he almost wanted to just turn around and walk away to make it easier, but then Liam leaned in to kiss him and Niall obviously wouldn’t have ever said no to that.

Immediately afterwards, Niall threw one last look into Liam’s eyes before turning his head, having to take the deepest breath ever though so he wouldn’t stumble over his own words. “Um, we should probably go, Lou.”

“Right, yeah, uh… “ Louis turned to Harry then, pecking his lips and saying something to him that Niall didn’t hear and he was actually pretty damn glad about that as well. Probably about them seeing each other again in just a bit. 

Liam and Louis briefly said goodbye to one another but Niall didn’t really pay any attention to that and he also completely forgot to say anything to Harry since he was a little bit more focused on attempting to dry his tears, just relieved when they were finally walking away from the other two because just standing there with Liam still right next to the blonde hadn’t really made things easier.

“Alright?” Louis asked after a second, his arm slowly wrapping around Niall’s shoulders and the blonde didn’t shrug him off because he wasn’t in the mood to fight or anything, he just felt like trash right now.

“Yeah… not like I have a choice.” Which was maybe a bit pessimistic, but it was true anyways. Sure, Niall could have made Liam sneak away from home while his parents were having guests over and made him be really rude and possibly get in trouble, but that simply wouldn’t have been worth it. Two days, Niall could do this.

Louis’ mom was already there and unfortunately, she had brought one of Louis’ sisters, who looked rather weirdly at Niall, most possibly because his face was all red and spotty. Luckily no one commented on it and the blonde simply stayed quiet during the car ride, not engaging in any conversation because Louis was busy being questioned by his little sister because he had dared going to Disneyland without her.

The second time Niall spoke other than saying hello was when he got out of the car again at his house, thanking Louis’ mom before grabbing his bag and throwing the door shut behind himself, wanting to go inside his own house so little that he actually thought about going somewhere else. It wasn’t late, maybe 5 pm or something, so everyone was possibly home and Niall just wanted to lie in bed and go to sleep so time would pass by faster.

Maybe it was unhealthy, to feel this down because he wasn’t able to see Liam every second of every day anymore, but Niall would eventually get used to it again, it was just a bit overwhelming right now.

Upon entering the house, Niall already wanted to walk right back out again when he saw his brother in the kitchen, but it was too late now anyways, so he would probably just have to deal with it. 

“Where’ve you been?” Greg was eating cereal, standing in the doorway to the kitchen while watching Niall taking off his shoes, his hopes about not having to speak to him already dead. At least his tears had dried and his face probably wasn’t too splotchy anymore either. 

“Um, I’ve been in London with Louis.” That was their official story, which was also why Niall had gotten extra nervous because them going to London by plane would have been a lot less likely than taking the train, but his parents had bought it anyways.

“With your fag friend?” See, here they went again. The thing was though, Greg seemed to somehow genuinely believe that that was a good identifier to use for Louis because he wasn’t even smiling about it like an idiot.

Niall didn’t answer though, just grabbed his bag and walked towards the stairs, briefly saying hello to his mum, who was in the living room, but he didn’t really receive an actual answer. She was just staring at the TV despite the fact that it was turned off, barely acknowledging the blonde’s presence.

“You can forget talking to her, she’s been having one of her phases again.” Greg was apparently still watching Niall and the blonde didn’t wanna turn around, but he kinda felt like he needed to now. “Be glad dad’s not here, he already asked me for money twice the past few days ‘cos mom might get fired again if she doesn’t show up to work soon.”

“I don’t have any money he could ask me for.” Well, he could have, but like… Niall already gave money to his parents to pay for bills, he’d have to get a second job if his mom got fired again. “What happened?”

“Nothing, I don’t know. It’ll pass, it always does.” Then Greg just shrugged and walked back into the kitchen and Niall threw another look at his mother, thinking about going into the living room to try and talk to her, but then he didn’t. They all knew she needed a doctor, she had needed one for as long as Niall could remember, and sometimes she had gone to see someone and then she had taken meds and things had gotten better and then they had gotten worse again. 

Niall felt bad for her, but there was nothing he could have done and whenever his mom had a good phase, she’d still treat him like shit and though she wasn’t as abusive as his father, it was obvious she barely tolerated Niall on some days. Niall never really told anybody about these things, not even Liam, because they were just so normal to him, he didn’t see the use. At least this was the only time when he could talk to his brother as if they were both human beings, as if they didn’t hate each other to the core. 

Once Niall had gotten into his room, he made sure to lock his door, simply throwing his bag onto the floor, but not without making sure to get out one of Liam’s shirts that he had packed on pure purpose without telling the boy. It was fine though, Liam would surely ask Niall about it and then the blonde would of course confess, but for now, it made him feel a little bit better to put it on while lying in bed and texting his boyfriend until it was late enough for them to actually talk on the phone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hope you liked the chapter, it seems like a filler chapter, but there was actually a LOT of hints ;)


	13. Chapter 13

Niall was so bored, he didn’t know what to do with himself. At the same time though, he had like 10 billion unfinished assignments and exams coming up and yet he couldn’t do any of them because he was rather busy just lying on bed and waiting for his boyfriend to call him back. Liam had been supposed to call him like 30 minutes ago, but he hadn’t, he also hadn’t texted or shown any other sign that he was still alive and the blonde was getting a bit worried. 

They hadn’t really been together ever since saying goodbye at the airport two days ago. Like, they had been facetiming each other and they had made out today at uni in the locker rooms before Liam’s football training and before his teammates had arrived, but that was it basically. Niall would have watched the training, but then they’d have to leave uni separately and it was just really complicated to hang out afterwards. Besides, Niall had had to finish a presentation for tomorrow and he really couldn’t have procrastinated any longer.

Now his presentation was done though and Liam’s training should have ended half an hour ago because he always made sure to end it on time whenever he and Niall were hanging out. Still, the blonde told himself that they just had a bit of a longer practice today and that there was no need to freak out. Also, he wasn’t really THAT worried about Liam, he was more worried that this would limit their time together and he hadn’t even asked the brunette whether he was gonna sleep over or not.

After another half an hour of Niall lying in bed and watching videos on his phone, he decided he couldn’t take it anymore. This was definitely weird and even if Liam’s phone had had run out of charge, he would have been home by now to plug it in. What if something bad had happened? Or what if he was mad at Niall for some reason the blonde couldn’t think of? Had he said or done anything? But Liam wouldn’t have just ignored him anyways, that was so not like him.

Maybe it was also that he was so desperate to see Liam that he felt as if he was going insane. Niall had definitely shed a tear or two the last two nights, which was stupid, but he hadn’t been able to sleep and anyways, it was kinda not so great knowing that they probably had YEARS ahead of them that would be just like this. That was, if they were still together by then, Niall had no reason at all to think that they’d break up anytime soon, but how would he have really known?

After texting Harry to ask if he could try and reach Liam and sending the brunette another 5 messages because he just couldn’t help himself, Niall felt much like crying again. Honestly, he didn’t care if he looked a bit clingy right now, he was genuinely worried that something might have happened to Liam and if that was the case, he couldn’t have even done anything.

Waiting ten more minutes, Niall was about to call Louis to check if he was with Harry so he could whine to him about it, but then suddenly his phone was going off, showing Harry’s name as if he had been reading Niall’s thoughts or something.

Niall almost ended the call on accident as he tried to pick up, not even knowing what to say or why Harry had thought it would be necessary to call instead of just texting. “Hi?”

“Hi, sorry I waited so long to call.” Well, Niall hadn’t asked him to call, but it was nice that Harry seemed to care so much. “I thought Liam had already called you or something or I-“

“Where is he?” Niall didn’t care about the backstory, he just needed to know where the hell Liam even was. Like, at least Harry seemed to know where he was, so that was calming but at the same time… why hadn’t he called Niall?

“Well… he got a bit hurt during training and it’s not b-“

“WHAT?!” Almost instantly, Niall had sat up straight in bed, his heart bumping so fast as if he had just heard the worst news of his entire life. Obviously it couldn’t have been so bad, Harry didn’t sound freaked out or worried, he simply sounded as if he really didn’t wanna be the one having to tell Niall.

“It’s fine, Niall, okay? I promise, it’s all good. He just hurt his arm and I was there because I was waiting for another friend on the team and anyways, I’m in the hospital with him, but he’s been with some doctor for ages now.” Right, this didn’t sound as horrible as Niall had feared but it also didn’t sound that great. What if Liam had gotten seriously injured? 

“I-“

“Oh, wait, actually, here he comes.” Harry interrupted Niall before the blonde could have started complaining and worrying out loud, not even making the blonde ask for being able to talk to Liam. “I’ll give him the phone… what’d they say? I got your boyfriend on the phone.”

They talked for a second in the background but it felt like ages to Niall and yet he still flinched when he suddenly heard Liam’s voice, sounding a bit exhausted but at the same time very guilty. “Please don’t be mad.” 

“I’m not. How are you? What happened?” How could Niall have been mad, honestly? He was just so relieved to be talking to Liam now after waiting for over an hour for him to call.

“I don’t even know, I fell because the grass was wet and someone kinda stepped on my arm, it went really fast and I couldn’t move it but it’s not broken or anything and it’ll be fine. Apparently I also hit my head pretty hard or something I can’t remember it that clearly, they were going on about me having to stay the night but I don’t think I will, I really wanna see you and-“

“Wait, wait. You can’t just leave so we can see each other, if they say you should stay then… you should.” Niall was disappointed, of course, but Liam’s well-being was way more important than anything else and if he had a concussion or something and the doctors wanted him to stay, then he definitely should have. “Maybe… maybe I can come visit you.”

“You can, I just… I don’t really wanna stay here over night and I really wanna be with you instead.” Liam sighed at the end and hearing his voice crack a bit made Niall feel all sort of things, Liam wasn’t one to cry and he was usually the one comforting Niall because the blonde tended to freak out a lot more easily, so for a second, Niall simply wanted to cry as well. “Sorry, today isn’t my day I guess.”

“You don’t have to apologize, Li… I’m just glad you’re okay, I was really worried about you.” The blonde was about to just get out of bed and go walk to the hospital, he didn’t care that it wasn’t even dark outside yet or that some of Liam’s teammates were maybe also still there. Then again, they probably wouldn’t have been able to talk so openly had that been the case. 

“But I am sorry, I should have called you, but when it happened I was kinda… I mean, it kinda really hurt and I still don’t have my phone on me because it’s in the locker room and I couldn’t tell Harry to call you because everyone else was there and then I had to go in and… I’m sorry, babe, I didn’t wanna worry you.” Clearly, Liam was trying to make it sound more harmless than it actually had been, he was clearly still in pain and obviously it had been kinda bad if the doctors wanted him to stay. Niall just wanted to be there with him and hug him and try anything possible to make him feel better. 

“It’s okay, I get it, it’s not your fault at all. If you want to I can come and bring you something to wear, I’ve got like… one of your hoodies, two shirts, your sweatpants… “ Niall actually had to think if maybe there wasn’t more and Liam was laughing a bit at him, lightening the mood a little. “But, um… maybe Harry can stay with you until I come? Like, just in case anybody of your other friends show up unexpected… “

“I’m gonna ask him. But you don’t have to come if-“

“Liam, I wanna do nothing more than to come see you right now, okay? I’ve been waiting for two days.” It hadn’t been supposed to sound as if Niall was blaming Liam or anything, but it kinda had come out that way and the blonde wanted to punch himself in the face while he was climbing out of bed. 

“I know, it’s my fault. I couldn’t even climb through your window like this. I’m sorry.” He was apologizing again and it was kinda breaking Niall’s heart because Liam sounded so damn serious and did he really think Niall would be mad at him for getting hurt?!

“Li, stop apologizing, okay? It’s not your fault and we’ll see each other in a bit.” Niall felt so bad for Liam now, and also for having been slightly upset before. “Do you need me to bring you anything else?”

They stopped talking once Niall had stuffed some things into his backpack with one hand, mostly because he needed to walk past his family to leave the house, but also because Harry might have wanted his phone back. Niall tried not to be excited about seeing Liam right now, but he really couldn’t have helped himself after having to wait for two damn days.

 

\------------------

 

Liam’s arm was hurting like hell even after he had gotten some pain killers by a nurse, but he was trying really hard not to let it show. Also, his head was now starting to hurt as well and maybe he was a little bit glad that he had decided to stay at the hospital now. Niall was going to come here, which was a bit of a relief, but Liam honestly hated himself for having gotten hurt today after they hadn’t really been able to be together since the vacation and of course they’d see each other now but… fuck it, Liam had so been looking forward to fall asleep with the younger boy.

“Niall’s gonna be here in like 10 minutes, he just texted me. Do you want me to go and get your things from your locker? Might take a while though, I have to go and get my car first.” Harry had stayed with Liam until now, trying to make him feel better, but it wasn’t working all that well. Pretty sure it’d be easier to ignore that pain though once Niall was going to walk through that door. 

“You don’t have to, Haz, but thank you. Niall’s got a few of my clothes anyways so he’s bringing me some. I just… “ Liam started, but then he stopped himself to really think about what he was about to say, thinking about whether it was necessary because he really didn’t wanna do this, but like… he didn’t have that much of a choice really. “I probably need to call my parents.”

“Do you have their numbers?” Harry already got his phone out without even hesitating, he was sitting in a chair next to the bed Liam was sitting on, holding the phone towards him and Liam took it slowly, not yet unlocking it though. Was it necessary to call his parents? Like, they’d probably find out anyways and stuff, but what if they wanted to come here if Liam called them now and then Niall would have to leave even sooner? 

“Yeah, but I… I think I’m not gonna call them. Not now at least, thanks though.” Liam handed the phone back after some hesitation, not because he wanted his parents to get worried or anything, but they were barely home themselves and they didn’t even always ask where Liam was if he didn’t come home because he was old enough obviously. Plus, everything he wanted right now was to have Niall here and if calling his parents meant thatthe blonde would possibly have to leave sooner then Liam wasn’t going to risk it. “You don’t have to wait, you know, if you have anywhere to be.”

“I kinda do gotta wait because I don’t know if Niall’s gonna find your room. But it’s fine, Li, don’t worry about it, I’ve got nothing planned. And I’ll make sure to leave as soon as Niall’s here as well.” He winked at Liam after saying that and the brunette would have rolled his eyes had he not been so grateful for Harry being here. “Who did you leave the key for the locker rooms with?”

“Um… I’m not sure, but someone has to have it because they all had to get their stuff. Actually… I really hope nobody took my phone.” Not that Liam thought his teammates would have stolen from him, but there were probably quite a few messages from Niall on there.

“If you want to I can find out for you, just because you probably don’t wanna spend the night here without being able to text Niall.” Right, Liam had been about to complain, but Harry seemed to be really thinking for him instead because that was a pretty good point. 

“That, uh… that would be really cool.” Liam felt bad for making Harry waste all this time on him, but then again, he kept offering and it didn’t look like he minded at all. 

“That’s what I thought.” Harry was smirking, leaning back in the chair before looking down at his phone again, letting out a chuckle. “God, Niall’s freaking out because he’s on the wrong floor and I didn’t text back for two seconds. He’s probably gonna be all over you in a minute, he’s so worried, he thinks you almost died.”

“I know… I feel so bad.” The brunette couldn’t really laugh along because of how guilty he felt, like just imaging it the other way around, he would have totally lost his mind. 

“Don’t, it wasn’t your fault at all. And I know you were really looking forward to seeing Niall, but you’re gonna see him in a minute and I gotta feeling he’s gonna wanna do nothing else besides be all up in your space and that’s what you wanted anyways, right?” The younger boy wasn’t even laughing while saying that, he simply shrugged and Liam tried not to blush too much but it was out of his control. Harry couldn’t have been any more right. 

Before any of them could have said anything else, somebody was knocking on the door and Liam flinched a bit, right before his heart was speeding up like crazy as he sat up a bit more straight, kinda afraid that it was somebody else instead. It wasn’t though, Niall looked slightly unsure when he opened the door, probably afraid it was the wrong room or something, but then his facial expression changed very quickly.

“Hi… I was really scared this was the wrong room again.” Liam felt a smile spreading across his face, the knot in his stomach loosening a bit when he watched his boyfriend coming over, looking all soft in his sweatpants and hoodie, but also kind of exhausted, which probably was Liam’s fault. “How are you doing?”

“I’m okay, babe, don’t worry…” The brunette kinda lied, almost feeling a bit impatient when Niall walked over to the bed, letting the backpack he had brought drop on the floor as he leaned over Liam. His eyes were stuck on the older’s arm for a second and also on the side of his head before they flattered closed and he kissed the brunette softly, fingers ghosting over his cheek and for a moment, Liam was almost completely fine again. 

“Guess that’s my clue.” Harry had gotten up once they had pulled apart and he didn’t at all seem as if he would have wanted to stay just a second longer. “Don’t baby him too much, Niall, it’s just a sprained wrist.”

“And a concussion.” The blonde added while pouting a bit, sitting on the edge of the bed now and Liam couldn’t help but smile at him, squeezing the younger’s hand after Niall had intertwined their fingers. “Thanks for calling.”

“You’re welcome. Li, I’m gonna see what I can do about your things and come again later if I find out who has the keys, okay?” Liam made sure to nod, thanking him again and then Harry was already gone and Niall pressed another kiss against Liam’s lips before pulling his hand out of the brunette’s again, very much to Liam’s dismay.

“So, I got you a few things.” Niall actually hopped off of the bed and Liam already missed his touch but he fully sat up to be able to watch the blonde as he opened his backpack. “Okay, so I got your sweatpants and a shirt and a hoodie, but I think I’m gonna need all those things back afterwards.”

“When did you even get all these things from me?” Liam was laughing when the blonde put the clothes on the bed, simply shrugging, as if he hadn’t kinda stolen Liam’s clothes from him, but honestly, it made the brunette’s stomach fill with warmth. So Niall liked wearing his clothes whenever they weren’t together, he had already kinda known but now he definitely had confirmation. “You can have them back, don’t worry.”

“Thank you.” Throwing a quick smile at Liam, Niall apparently had brought more things because he reached into his bag again, pulling out the thing Liam had least expected. “Since you can’t see him anymore today and since I probably can’t spend the night even though I totally would.”

The blonde had brought the stuffed dog that kinda looked like Watson, the one Liam had bought him after their fight and he had been keeping it in his bed ever since which the brunette had thought was the sweetest thing. This was definitely topping it though and maybe it was a bit weird, but it definitely made him feel better. “Thanks, Nialler.”

“You’re welcome. Also, I got you some snacks as well and something to drink, but I didn’t wanna waste too much time in the store.” He then continued to pull out things from his backpack and Liam almost managed to forget about the pinching pain in his arm and head, kinda wanting to change into his own clothes but at the same time not really wanting to get out of bed and risk moving his arm too much on accident. 

“Thank you, baby, you really didn’t have to, I-“

“But I wanted to and I want you to feel better and I really wish I could do more, but… I can’t.” Niall sounded a bit sad after he finished stacking the things on the table next to Liam’s bed and sitting back down on the mattress after having kicked his shoes off. “Are you really feeling okay? Are you in pain?”

“I mean… “ Liam started, kinda not wanting to lie anymore and he leaned back against the pillow as he hesitated, making sure to intertwine the fingers of his good hand with Niall’s once more. “A bit.”

“I can go get somebody and maybe they can give you some painkillers or so?” The blonde sounded as if he was already about to leave so Liam made sure to tighten his grip on the younger boy.

“No, uh… they already gave me some. It’s fine, a bit of pain is normal.” Well, it wasn’t really the best feeling and Niall also didn’t look very convinced so Liam had to definitely take other measures. “Do you wanna lie down?”

“If there’s enough space.” Liam was very aware of Niall’s eyes never leaving his face as if he was watching to see if there was any sign of pain, so the brunette tried extra hard to move as slowly as possible, trying to make some more space for the blonde.

It actually worked quite well, Niall stayed on his side so they could look at each other, his fingers caressing Liam’s face, very softly touching the edges of the bandaid on the side of Liam’s head, not looking very happy with it. “How was your day?”

“Well… it was alright I guess, until… but I’m just glad you’re alright and that I get to see you… yours?” Niall was sending tingles down Liam’s spine with his feather light touches, his thumb slowly rubbing across his bottom lip and he actually leaned down to kiss the brunette again before letting him answer. 

“The same, I guess… I really missed you.” He had been pretty much from the second that Niall had turned around in the airport and snogging him for five minutes today hadn’t really made up for that. Liam would have spoken to his mother had their house not been filled with guests for two days straight and the longer he had thought about it, the more nervous he had gotten. 

“I really missed you too, Li… but tomorrow when you can go home we can see each other again, right?” Well, this was now going to become slightly more complicated than it usually was anyways. 

“Yeah, I think my parents aren’t gonna be home for a few hours, and I’m sure I could probably still climb up t-“

“No way, you’re not gonna climb up anything until your arm is all better again, I won’t allow it. Especially not at night, we can just hang out somewhere else, the locker rooms or something, I don’t care.” Niall really sounded like he didn’t care as well, he just sounded very eager to be with Liam no matter what it took and it would have made the brunette smile had he not felt so damn guilty about all of this still. “Maybe they won’t ever kick me out of here, who knows. I can just cry or something and then I could stay the night.”

“I don’t know if they’ll let you do that, baby, but I think you should definitely try.” Liam was determined to keep Niall with him for as long as somehow possible, at least until Harry returned with his phone and maybe a charger, because Liam had no idea how else he would have survived spending the night. Maybe Niall would have left him his phone here and they could have still skyped, but that would have probably been going a bit too far. 

The blonde looked down at Liam for a moment without speaking before he suddenly leaned down until their lips were brushing and Liam had wanted to be alone with the younger boy for so long now that he couldn’t help himself but to immediately relax his jaw when Niall applied a bit more pressure, allowing the blonde to lick into his mouth.

They had been doing this today already, but it had been really rushed and in the back of his head Liam had known that anybody could have come in and seen them any second, so it was really nice now to take it slow. Niall was definitely being a lot more gentle than he usually was, he also seemed to really try and not lean too much into Liam even though the older’s injured arm wasn’t even on the blonde’s side. 

Liam wasn’t complaining though because he really just wanted to kiss the blonde while Niall’s hand was cupping his cheek, thumb rubbing slowly across his skin. It was really soothing, every single one of Niall’s touches and just having him here in general, being with him and knowing that he wouldn’t have ever left Liam alone no matter what, he’d always have the brunette’s back and be there for him and Liam couldn’t have imagined anything better in this world.

 

\-------------------

 

Though Niall really didn’t want to, he was kind of forced to get off of the bed after a while because a nurse came in and the blonde was brightly blushed when he climbed off to sit in the chair beside Liam’s bed instead, still holding his hand. He stayed until Harry came back two hours later with Liam’s things and saying goodbye to the brunette and having to leave him there because visiting hours were long over and Niall kinda got thrown out was maybe the hardest thing ever.

They were on FaceTime pretty much all night long, which almost caused Niall to oversleep in the morning but he somehow managed to make it to his class in time. Liam was still in hospital but the blonde was determined to be there once he was allowed to leave even though it was kind of inconvenient and a bit risky, but… Liam had gotten hurt and Niall wanted to be there for him.

So after deciding that his boyfriend was more important than a few lectures, Niall made sure to text Liam that he was on his way, just to be on the safe side, and the brunette barely tried to make him stay at uni. He clearly wanted Niall to come and though Harry would come to pick Liam up and drive him home later, the blonde had decided that no one would see him getting into the same car. 

Niall made sure not to knock on the wrong door again, only waiting for a second though because he was so bloody eager to see his boyfriend again. Tonight they’d finally get to sleep in the same bed again, not sure whose yet, but Niall was determined to make it happen. He wouldn’t survive another sleepless night. 

“Hi, you were really fast.” Liam looked a lot better today, he had changed into normal clothes and his cheeks had more color and he just seemed really happy to see the blonde and Niall couldn’t even say anything other than a quick “Hi” before he felt the unbearable urge to go and kiss Liam. 

“Yeah, I hurried ‘cos I can imagine how bored you are. How are you? When can you go home?” Niall moved into the chair today, threading his fingers through Liam’s though and making the brunette laugh, probably by how eager he had sounded. 

“In a few hours, I think, they did like some test and I gotta wait until they tell me the results. But they said I’m fine and I feel good, so… “ He shrugged, smiling at the blonde and Niall felt some relief rushing through him. Last night it had been obvious that Liam had been in pain despite having tried to hide it so desperately and it had been killing Niall. “How many classes did you just skip for me?”

“Three, but there’s no attendance so I’m good. Maybe for once Louis can borrow me his notes instead of me doing all the work.” Niall rolled his eyes, already knowing that this wasn’t ever going to happen and Liam squeezed his hand in sympathy. “Do you have anything to do today?”

“Besides lying in this bed you mean?” Chuckling, Liam brought their intertwined hands up to his lips to kiss the back of Niall’s and the blonde tried to pout but then he just ended up smiling. God, he was so fucking glad that Liam was alright. “Hmm, well, I might have a few things to do but I guess they could be rearranged… if I have a really good reason to do so.”

“Is lying in a different bed than this one and cuddling with me a good enough reason?” The blonde just asked straight forward because he was maybe a little bit desperate and he could see in Liam’s face that he thought about making a joking now, but then he never ended up doing it and instead, he just made Niall blush. 

“I think there’s no better reason actually.” His face was really soft when he said it and though Niall had been looking into Liam’s eyes probably a billion times, he still felt goosebumps going down his spine and a few butterflies going crazy in his stomach whenever the brunette was looking at him like that. 

They talked for a while longer and Liam made sure to text Harry after half an hour or so, but he did it with only one hand so he could keep holding onto Niall’s and maybe they were overdoing it a little bit, but Niall still found himself smiling like an idiot. “We’re so lucky you don’t have a roommate.”

“True, but I’ll be gone soon anyways, it would have just been a bit weird last night maybe. Although I might have not stayed then, I was really close to just walking out of here last night and after sleeping for like 2 hours I kinda regret that I didn’t.” Okay, now Niall felt bad for having told Liam to stay, but then again, it had still been the right decision, it had been for his well-being after all. 

“You should have called me again, I wasn’t really able to sleep that well either.” Not only because Niall had been worried about Liam of course, but also because he just missed having the brunette with him in bed. 

“I didn’t wanna wake you, but it’s fine, it was only one night and I should probably stop whining about it.” The brunette laughed and Niall made sure to squeeze his hand, thinking about getting up to give the older boy a kiss and he had maybe never been more relieved in his life that he had decided against it in the end.

One second they were talking and holding hands and looking at each other, and the next one there was a sharp knock at the door and Niall’s brain wasn’t working fast enough and he didn’t even realize what was going on at first when somebody opened the door. Apparently, Liam needed quite some time as well because his hand remained in Niall’s, very visibly on the bed and for a moment, Niall couldn’t actually believe that this was happening.

“Liam, I-… “ It was Liam’s mother, standing in the doorway, staring at them as if one of them had grown a second head and Niall just looked at her with wide eyes, his hand still in Liam’s because it kinda felt like this wasn’t real. They had been so careful, they had snuck around for so long and they had messed up so randomly that Niall would have laughed had he not been so afraid. They were fucked.

“Mom, how… how did you know where I am?!” Liam sounded as shocked as Niall felt and the blonde slowly came to his senses upon hearing the older’s voice, very slowly letting his hand slip out of the brunette’s while being well aware of his mother’s stare. She had seen it, there was no way she hadn’t, and she wasn’t even looking at Liam but at Niall and the blonde kinda forgot how to lower his eyes or turn his head. 

“You didn’t come home last night and I got a call from one of my friends who works here… what is going on here?” She closed the door behind her, very slowly, coming closer and her face didn’t just yet look upset but Niall knew that it was going to come. He wanted to cry, but he wasn’t sure he would have known how to anymore so instead he made sure to sit back in the chair even though the bed was in between him and Liam’s mother but he suddenly was really scared of her. He had never seen her that close, had never even been in the same room with her except that one time lying underneath Liam’s bed. “You two know each other?”

“I… “ Liam started, but he seemed to be at a loss of words and Niall couldn’t even open his mouth. Why was this happening? What the fuck were they going to do now? Niall would have to move out if his father wasn’t going to strangle him to death before that. 

“Liam, I expect an answer, what’s going on? You know each other? Since when has this been going on?” Maybe she was referring to the hand holding and maybe not, but she was raising her voice as she stopped a few meters away from the bed, crossing her arms in front of her chest and Niall finally managed to throw a look at Liam’s face, but it wasn’t very calming. 

“We, um… we know each other since…uh… a while.” Liam almost only whispered the last part and Niall wasn’t sure if telling the truth had been the best idea but then again… what else should Liam have said really? His mother wasn’t blind. 

There was a very uncomfortable silence for a moment and Niall finally managed to lower his eyes, just keeping them on the bed in front of him, barely allowing himself to breathe. He couldn’t believe this, couldn’t fucking believe that this was happening and most of all, he didn’t even want to think of the consequences. He had been looking forward to spending time with Liam just a few minutes ago and now… now who knew what would happen. What if Liam wanted to break up? The thought hit Niall so hard that his tears almost spilled over right then and there. 

“Who knows about this?” When Liam’s mother spoke again, she sounded slightly more calm and Niall almost wanted to look at her, but then he didn’t.

“No one… only Harry and… another friend.” Liam mumbled, not sounding very much like himself and Niall wanted to reach out and touch him but he couldn’t and it was killing him. 

“And both of you know what this means, do you? You both know why this is the worst decision either of you has ever made?” The thing was though her words were harsh, they didn’t really come out that way, she didn’t even sound that angry to be honest, just completely shocked. 

“Mum, he… Niall has nothing to do with any of this, neither of us do, we don’t even know what happened, I was going to ask you, I-“

“Liam, stop. I can’t believe this, I can’t believe _you two_ … after everything… you went together, didn’t you? On that trip you took? And all those nights you didn’t come home… “ At this point, Niall finally managed to look up and see her shaking her head, there were tears burning in his eyes but he was trying really bloody hard not to allow them to spill over. “Are you like… together?”

There was another second of silence and Niall was about to actually speak up, but then Liam was faster, saying the complete opposite of what the blonde would have thought was wise at this point. “Yes. Mom, I… I would have told you if I could have… “

“Please don’t tell my parents.” Niall just blurted out with it, he couldn’t hold back and Liam’s mother’s eyes were on him in an instant, making the blonde’s heart beat twice as fast.

“Your _parents_ … “ She said it in a way that the blonde didn’t quite understand, shaking her head a bit while looking at Niall, almost as if she felt bad for him. “I think you should leave.”

“Mom-“

“Liam, I am aware that I cannot keep the two of you apart, but I would still like to speak to you alone.” Niall was really unsure about what to do, he finally shared a look with the older boy and Liam very much looked like he wanted him to stay but… Niall didn’t want to upset Liam’s mother if there was just the slightest chance that she wouldn’t tell on them. 

“I, uh… I’ll… text you… “ The blonde half choked out as he got up, not sure if he was allowed to say that right now and he flinched when Liam suddenly grabbed a hold of his wrist before he was able to walk around the bed.

“I love you.” Liam honestly said it, out loud, in front of his mother, looking Niall dead in the eyes and the blonde’s heart kinda stopped for a moment. He couldn’t actually believe Liam was doing this, for him, not only saying that in front of his mother but also coming out to her like this.

“I love you… “ Niall half whispered back before quickly collecting his bag from the floor and leaving the room before either of them had been able to speak another word. He was still too shocked to actually cry while walking down the hallway, but his fingers had never been shaking this much when he took his phone out to call Louis.

What the fuck were they going to do now?

 

\-----------

 

“Um… something happened.” Niall didn’t know what else to say, he actually didn’t even know why he had called Louis without thinking about what he was going to say, he was just sitting at the bus stop, not wanting to go home and actually not even wanting to leave the hospital in general. What if Liam’s mother had already somehow made sure Niall’s parents found out because she wanted them to break up? What if Niall was going to come home and everybody would already know?!

“Is everything okay with Liam?” Of course this was the first thing Louis thought of, he sounded slightly worried as well but honestly, it was kinda appropriate anyways. 

“I mean… I don’t know.” Actually, nothing was okay at all, Niall had no idea what Liam’s mother was telling him right now and he was scared shitless. Liam loved him, Niall knew that, the brunette had even risked telling him in front of his mother, but the blonde had no idea what she was going to tell him. 

“Wh-“

“Liam’s mother walked in on us.” Niall simply blurted out with it before Louis was able to ask even though maybe he hadn’t chosen the right words, but… it’s not like it genuinely mattered right now. 

“She did _what?!_ At the hospital?! What did she say? Where are you?!” Okay, at least Louis’ reaction was as shocked as Niall’s had been and even though this wasn’t going to help, the last thing Niall would have wanted was for anybody to try and make him feel better about this.

“I don’t know, she wasn’t mad, but… she kicked me out of the room, kind of, and I’m at the bus stop and I have no idea what they’re talking about right now and… fuck, Lou, what if she’s gonna tell my parents?! What if Liam’s gonna break up with me?!” Niall didn’t doubt Liam’s loyalty or his love, but who knew what his mother was telling him right now? She could have said anything at all to make them break up. 

“He won’t break up with you, Nialler, I can promise you that… and I don’t think she’s gonna tell your parents, I mean, she hates them, right? How would she even get a hold of them?” True, but then again, if she was really keen on making Niall’s life hell, she would definitely find a way. 

“I don’t know… blackmail them or something? I don’t know what to do.” Niall felt really helpless right now, he couldn’t just go back in to see Liam again and his mother was surely going to make him come home with her instead and… who knew how many hours away that was. 

“Are you still at the bus stop?” Louis seemed to have realized that the younger boy was about to lose his mind because he had softened his voice and didn’t sound AS freaked out anymore. He was probably just good at hiding it though because what had happened just a bit ago was pretty much the worst thing Niall could have ever imagined. Somehow he felt like he should have been crying, but he was still in too much shock as to really internalize what this meant for them.

“Um, yeah, I don’t really… I don’t know if I should leave and I don’t wanna go home because… I don’t know.” Honestly, Niall didn’t know anything anymore, he somehow felt really exhausted from all of this even though he hadn’t done anything physically, but just like mentally, the blonde wanted to lie in bed for a few days. He was also so fucking disappointed about having had to leave Liam like that and about not being able to do what they had been planning on doing today and just… maybe they never would again, maybe this was it.

“Okay, do you want to come to my place then? A few of my sisters are home and I’m kinda babysitting but I can just put a movie on for them or something.” Well, that didn’t sound too promising to be honest, but Niall still agreed almost immediately. Most of all, he didn’t want to be alone.

He stayed on the phone with Louis for a bit but his battery was running low from having texted Liam so much today, so he hung up while sitting on the bus, feeling guilty that he had left the hospital but at the same time… what had he been supposed to do? He just hoped Liam’s mother wasn’t giving Liam hell right now and that she wouldn’t tell the brunette anything that would make him not wanna be with Niall anymore.

What if she knew something about Niall’s family she had never told Liam and now she was telling him and it’d change everything between them? Liam had always promised that nothing in this world could have changed the way he saw Niall, but how could he have even made that promise anyways? Neither of them knew what was going on between their families. 

When Niall arrived at Louis’ house, it was one of his little sisters that opened the door, with Louis yelling in the background that she should ask who it was first, but of course she hadn’t done that. Niall thought it was a little irresponsible on Louis’ part, but then again, he had known that it was Niall and it’s not like the blonde would have wanted to start a discussion right now. What he really wanted was for Louis to tell him what the fuck to do.

“Okay, you guys got your movie on and if anything happens then you can come to my room, okay?” Louis had made sure to keep his sisters entertained so they could talk and Niall suddenly thought that maybe sitting here watching Zootopia would have taken his mind off more than talking to Louis about all of this. They wouldn’t find a solution anyways and Liam still hadn’t texted the blonde.

“What if I’m hungry?” One of Louis’ sisters asked and Niall thought that that was a very valid question, but it just made the other boy roll his eyes before disappearing in the kitchen, coming back a minute later with a box of cookie. 

“Don’t tell mom, alright?” There was no answer to that because they were all busy fighting over the candy now and Niall brought himself to a smile before he followed his friend upstairs, kinda feeling bad that he was causing this, but then again, Louis wasn’t usually any different whenever he would watch his siblings. “Did he text you already?”

“No… I don’t think he will while he’s with his mom… we should probably tell Harry that he doesn’t need to pick Liam up anymore… “ Saying this almost made Niall wanna cry, but then he didn’t because it wouldn’t have changed anything and he had done enough crying the past few days already. 

“If Liam never texts him again it’s kinda obvious anyways, I guess. Do you think that… that his mom is going to try and talk him into like… you know… “ Louis broke off, just making some hand gesture, as if he was afraid of Niall’s reaction if he had said it out loud.

“Break up with me? Definitely. But it was weird… she didn’t seem mad, she just… she was just saying that this is the worst decision me and Liam have ever made and when I asked her not to tell my parents she didn’t really answer and… it was just so weird. What if she tells Liam something really bad now? What if my parents are actually murderers or some shit and he’s gonna break up with me?” Niall couldn’t help his anxiety coming through, they were sitting on Louis’ bed now and the blonde had already bitten his thumb bleeding because of how nervous he was. 

“So what if your parents were murderers, it doesn’t change the fact that he loves you. She couldn’t tell him anything that would make him end it with you because nothing she says could have anything to do with you.” True, that was the only calming thought that Niall was holding onto right now, it was just so nerve wrecking to sit there and wait, not knowing what was going on or what was going to happen. “If I’m being honest then I don’t think anything at all is going to happen.”

“His mother took him out of school so we wouldn’t go to the same one, clearly she doesn’t only want him away from my parents but also from me.” But Niall hadn’t done anything, he hadn’t even been born back when it had all happened, had he?

“You were kids back then, she was probably afraid that you were gonna become friends and explaining to your child why they can’t be friends with another child or visit them at home isn’t that easy, trust me, I’ve got experience.” What Louis was saying sounded very logical and yet Niall wasn’t satisfied with that answer, he wanted to know what had happened, more than ever now and it was driving him insane that he had nobody to ask. “If his mother didn’t freak out or start yelling when she saw you then I don’t think she started after you left… I mean, she saw you holding hands, right? And Liam told her you’re together?”

Niall had given Louis the short version of the story a few minutes ago and it had almost made him wanna text Liam but then he hadn’t, just because… he was probably already in trouble, the blonde didn’t want to make it worse by getting onto his nerves when it was obvious that he was going to text Niall as soon as he could… right? 

“He also… he told me he loved me, before I left and… she didn’t say anything then either. But maybe she was just so calm because she knew exactly what to tell Liam as soon as I left, maybe that’s why she wanted me to leave, so she could tell him all the reasons to break up with me.” The blonde couldn’t help those tears in his eyes spilling over now but he made sure to wipe them away quickly, not wanting Louis to pity him too much. 

“Ni, what reasons could she have? She doesn’t even know you.” Louis seemed to be serious about this but Niall just couldn’t help himself and doubt the other’s words, because obviously he wasn’t going to tell Niall now that he actually believed that Liam was going to end it. 

“Well, but maybe… maybe she threatens him and then she’s gonna make him break up with me or otherwise she’s gonna tell my parents or do something else.” Then again, they could have probably started to sneak around again if that happened, after letting some time pass, but it’d be even riskier and it’d make things so much harder and Niall just wanted to be with his boyfriend and nothing else.

“What do you think your parents would do if they found out? Like, what do you genuinely think they would do?” Louis asking this question kinda made Niall really nervous because to him it was like confirmation that Louis was also kinda thinking about all of this ending badly.

“Kill me. Throw me out. Burn all my things, I don’t know. They surely won’t take it like Liam’s mom and then it wouldn’t only be about me dating Liam out of all people but also about me dating a guy, they’d never accept it even if it were someone else. Trust me, it’d be the worst thing in the world to have them finding out about this.” Niall wasn’t joking around, though he had also always thought that Liam’s parents would have reacted differently and so had the brunette, but with Niall’s family… there was really no doubt. 

“If Liam’s mom hates your parents so much though I don’t think she’d tell them or even want them to find out, it just makes no sense.” Yeah, but then again, what made sense about any of this? Niall had long stopped worrying about that aspect of the whole thing, why couldn’t everything just be normal?

They stayed in Louis’ room for more than an hour talking about it without ever coming to a conclusion. At some point his sisters came in without knocking to ask to have another movie on and Niall thought about suggesting that they should simply join, but then that kinda got ruined for him when Louis got a text message. 

“Um… you don’t mind if Harry’s coming over, do you? I told him you’re here and that Liam’s mom caught you guys.” Okay, no idea when Louis had had time to text Harry that, but Niall didn’t actually care so he just shook his head, feeling a bit sad when he stared at his own phone with zero messages on the screen. 

He did go with Louis 20 minutes later as he opened the door for Harry, just keeping a bit in the background though, so he actually didn’t immediately realize who was in the doorframe next to Harry. When Niall saw Liam though, he couldn’t help but feel relief spreading through his body, almost wanting to start crying yet again as he went to hug the brunette without anybody being able to say a word.

Liam hugged him back, as tightly as ever, so that couldn’t mean he was planning on breaking up with Niall, right? Somehow though, he seemed to be holding on extra tight, so much that it hurt, and when they pulled apart, Niall only had time to open his mouth before Liam was suddenly kissing him in front of the other two, so desperately and deeply that the blonde could feel his cheeks getting hot from the inappropriateness. What was going on?

“Li-“

“We need to talk about some things.” The brunette interrupted Niall, still holding onto him, but his face was definitely anything besides happy. Actually, he looked like he had just heard the worst news of his entire life and the blonde’s worries were back at an instant, completely forgetting about Harry’s and Louis’ presence.

“Are you… are you gonna break up with me?” Niall barely only whispered the question, he had no idea how he had gotten himself to even ask it, but when Liam hesitated and didn’t answer right away, the blonde wasn’t so sure anymore if he ever had had any reason to feel relieved at all. 

 

\---------------------

 

“You need to end this, I’m not telling you what to do and I’m not saying it because I’m holding a grudge, I’m saying it because I care about you.” His mother had sat down as soon as Niall had left and Liam had never felt this empty before and this helpless. He wanted Niall back here with him where he belonged, he didn’t want him to be all by himself now, they needed to talk, the two of them. 

“I’m not gonna end it, mom, why are you being so dramatic? He’s the son of some people you hate, this has nothing to do with me or Niall and this whole fight is ridiculous. I’ve been meaning to tell you that so many times. What even happened?” Liam was so done with these secrets and all that shit, why couldn’t everyone just bloody say it?!

“I can’t tell you, not now and not like this. Liam, I’m being serious right now, this isn’t about Niall, this isn’t even about the fact that you suddenly seem to be into boys, this is simply about you not getting dragged into something. You need to keep away from these people and you need to stop trying to figure out what happened, it’s in the past.” What the hell?

“Okay, and you think I’m just gonna accept that? I’ll just break up with Niall just because you keep saying all these cryptic things about his family? I _love_ him, I’m not going to never see him again because dad had a fight with Niall’s father and-“

“He’s _not_ Niall’s father, Liam, if you really need me to say it out loud now. And I don’t know what you’re going to make of this but you should know that telling Niall or anyone about this is going to have serious consequences.” His mother looked like she regretted having said any of that just a second later and Liam’s mouth was just dropped open because… what?! “If you tell Niall about this he is going to want to find out what happened even more and it’s in your best interest to make sure that doesn’t happen. Not only for your sake but for Niall’s.”

“I… why? Why would I not tell him that?!” Hell, Liam was about to get out of bed and see if maybe he could still catch up with the blonde, but then again… maybe this wasn’t true, maybe his mother was lying for whatever reason, why would Liam simply believe her? “Why did you tell me if it doesn’t help me and if it’s not making me wanna break up with Niall and if I can’t tell him?”

“Because it’s important and because if you really love him like you said then you’re going to stop putting him and all of us at risk by being with him. And you’re not going to tell him about his father because if you do we both know he’s going to start asking questions and he’s gonna wanna know the truth and he’s going to lose his family if he does. I don’t care for Niall, but if you do then you should really take my advice to heart.” Okay, this was only getting more dramatic, but Liam couldn’t help but feel unsure all of a sudden, his mother sounded so damn serious and… why would she make this up? It made sense that all of this wasn’t about a simple fight… so what in God’s name had it been about then?

“I can’t keep this from him.” Liam really couldn’t, even if it was a lie, he couldn’t keep something like that from Niall and he wouldn’t even think about it for a second. 

“That’s your decision, Liam. I just want you to know that your father and I wouldn’t ever hold a grudge against somebody for simply being bad business partners or for being bad friends. I told you about Niall’s father because I want you to realize that there is a lot more to this story and this was by far not the worst thing. You can do with that whatever you want, I’m not going to try and keep you from seeing him, I simply want you to think about your family and also your own well-being. And Niall’s. I have no idea if you know a lot about the Horans, but if there’s one thing I know it’s that none of these kids were ever treated well and if they realize that Niall’s starting to ask questions about this whole thing… “ What?

“Why can’t you just tell me what happened?” Was it so bad? She had already told Liam something now, but probably only because she wanted to provoke a fight between Niall and Liam or maybe also because she had realized Liam wasn’t taking any of this serious. Well, he kinda was now.

“Because it wouldn’t help anybody and I don’t want that psychopath family to find out that Niall found out from you. I’m not going to say anything else, Liam, you can either take my advice or ignore it, but I would never want you hurt and if you want to date a boy then I’m okay with that and it’s not Niall that I’m trying to keep you from, it’s everybody else.” The thing was, Liam had never thought that his mother would be so supportive and it made it really hard for him to not believe her words because… if she didn’t care if Liam dated a boy, why would she make all this up just to keep him away from Niall? “You should tell your father about this when we get home.”

“What, uh, what if I don’t?” Was she going to tell him? Was she going to tell anybody?

“You’re a grown up, Liam, I’m not going to talk about you behind your back with your father and no, I’m not going to make sure Niall’s family finds out about this because if they do, you and Niall are going to be in even more trouble than you already are. Trust me when I say this, if his parents find out they wouldn’t stop to listen for just one second.” Well out of everything, this part Liam didn’t doubt for one second.

“But they’re not his parents though. I mean, at least his dad isn’t… is Niall… is he adopted or something? Is his mother his mother?” Liam was desperate to find out more, but his mother didn’t answer immediately, she didn’t even nod or shake her head, she was just looking at Liam as if the answer was somehow written in his face. 

“I’m not going to tell you, Liam, and trust me, you don’t actually want me to tell you the answer to that.” When she spoke, her voice was firm and Liam knew that there was no reason to argue anymore because his mother wasn’t going to give in to him, she never did.

The brunette didn’t know what to say anymore, didn’t know what to do or what to think. He just stared at his mother for another moment and considered her words and all of sudden his conversation that he had had with Niall came back to him, the one where the blonde had suggested that maybe something really and genuinely bad had happened, right before… right before telling Liam that Louis had joked about them being related.

It kinda hit Liam out of nowhere, that thought and how well it went with what his mother had said and though every piece of Liam was rebelling against simply considering this option, he couldn’t help it. A fight wouldn’t have been enough to cause all of this, Niall’s father wasn’t actually Niall’s father, Liam’s mom had told Liam he needed to stay away from Niall in both their best interests and she believed Liam didn’t wanna actually know who Niall’s father was.

What if… what if Liam’s dad… and Niall’s mom… what if Niall and Liam were actually… related? The thought scared Liam so much that he didn’t even dare asking his mother, because she wouldn’t have told him anyways and the longer he thought about, the more sense it made. A simple fight wouldn’t have escalated like this, but somebody cheating and getting their best friend’s wife pregnant might have. Okay, so what the fuck was Liam going to do now?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey guys :) make sure you check out the cover for the fic in the first chapter that i added, it was made by a friend of mine on tumblr (robbieamell.tumblr.com) and i think its absolutely gorgeous and i love it! and its got like things from the plot in it :D 
> 
> some of you may be having your finals right now so good luck on those!!! and good luck with anything else you might be busy with right now! 
> 
> before you judge me because of how this chapter ended... wait until the next one haha. 
> 
> love you guys, hope youre still enjoying the fic, the big reveal is near!


	14. Chapter 14

“Do you guys wanna be alone or something? Me and Harry can just go downstairs with the kids.” Louis offered, probably the fifth time already but Liam still didn’t care who was here because everyone would soon know what was going on anyways. This was the thing, since they had told Harry and Louis about their relationship, there were no secrets anymore.

“It’s fine, really, I just… I don’t know how to say it.” Liam didn’t even have confirmation if what he had come up with was true, but the longer he had thought about it… 

“How bad is it?” Niall was practically glued to Liam’s side ever since the brunette had gotten here, not having known what to say when blonde had asked him whether he wanted to break up out of nowhere. No, Liam would have never wanted to break up with Niall, but once he said what he had to say, he wasn’t sure where things would go from there. “Did she tell you what happened between our parents?”

“No, she didn’t, um… I mean, she also didn’t get mad about it or anything, she also said she won’t tell your parents or even my dad. She was just… “ Liam hesitated because he didn’t wanna hurt Niall and the blonde was sitting next to him on the couch in Louis’ room, holding his hand and looking at Liam so desperately that the brunette actually thought about lying. He had considered it, had thought that maybe his mother was right, maybe telling Niall was the wrong choice, but… how could he have ever kept something like this from Niall? “She said she wouldn’t care, about us, I mean, if… “

“If I wasn’t me.” The blonde finished the sentence, not making it sound like a question but Liam still nodded, squeezing the younger’s hand. Would Niall be weirded out by all the touches and kisses once Liam had told him? “What else did she say?”

“That’s the thing I wanted to talk about, um… it’s just, it’s a pretty, like… serious thing and my mom said I would be an idiot to tell you, but if no one ever finds out except for the four of us… I think we’d be fine. You just… you can’t ask your parents about it, Niall, okay? I don’t know what’s gonna happen if you do and I don’t even know if my mom was making it sound dramatic because she wants us to break up or something, but fact is that… she said something, about your dad.” God, this was so fucking nerve wrecking and the thing was, this was by far not the worst part of this story. 

“Oh my god, did he kill someone?” It was Louis who interjected and Niall threw him a glare, which was quite ironic considering the fact that it was actually Louis who had jokingly come up with the one option that seemed to be the most likely. Fuck, Liam hated this so much, he wanted to cry. 

“No, he didn’t, um… “ For a moment, Liam actually considered asking Harry and Louis to leave because this was quite personal, but then again, what was the point of keeping this from them? And Niall had also told them that it was fine if they stayed, so… “My mom… she said that, uh… that he’s not your dad.”

“Wait, what?” Niall had needed a second to let it sink in, but his eyes had gotten quite big and when he asked, Liam felt his stomach drop upon seeing the shimmer of hope in Niall’s face. Shit, he thought it was a good thing?! “Seriously? What else did she say?!”

“Nothing, I tried to get her to tell me more but she wouldn’t give in. Baby, I… I’m sorry a-“

“Why are you sorry? I hate him, at least now I know why he hates me as well, I hope your mom didn’t just make that up.” Okay, right, this wasn’t at all what Liam had been expecting, he threw a look at Harry and Louis who looked equally shocked but didn’t say a single word. “Do you think I’m like… adopted?”

“I don’t know, Ni, I… she didn’t say anything else, she also didn’t say anything about your mom. She said she only told me so I’d realize how serious this situation is and that I can’t tell you about this because you would go and ask your parents about it and… and if you do, apparently that would be really bad.” Well, this was the better sounding version of the story, Liam’s mother had literally made it sound as if they would both be executed or something. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. I won’t ask them about it, I doubt they’d tell me anyways… maybe I’m really just adopted or something, who knows? I mean… not like it’s gonna change anything, is it?” True, at least from Niall’s perspective because he hadn’t done as much thinking as Liam already had. “Is that everything?”

“Um… well, it’s everything my mom told me, I just… I thought it was really weird, that she would choose to tell me just this and nothing else and make it sound as if it is a reason for us to break up, so… “ So basically, Liam had come to the conclusion that things were actually even worse than just bad, but he honestly wasn’t sure how to say this right to Niall’s face.

“So?” The thing was, the blonde seemed oddly cheerful now, as if hearing that he was possibly adopted was the best news he had ever heard and maybe Liam should have been expecting that because he kinda got it. He had never met Niall’s parents, but everything he had heard from both Niall and his mother made him not ever wanna change that. 

“So… I did some thinking and… I mean, it’s… I didn’t ask my mom about it because just thinking about it made me kinda… anyways, uh… I don’t know if anything my mom said is true or if she just wants us to break up and… I don’t know if my own theory is right obviously, and I really hope it’s not because…” Fuck this, Liam couldn’t say it, his throat had already gotten tight and looking into Niall’s eyes didn’t make things any better. 

“Li, it’s fine, whatever it is.” Well, except that it really wasn’t. “We already have to sneak around and your mom already wants us to break up, but if her telling you that my dad isn’t my dad is everything and she didn’t even get mad about it, I mean… we always thought it’d be a lot worse, right? Maybe it’s not actually that bad. We can’t ever tell my parents, but if your mom won’t say anything, maybe your dad won’t either if he-“

“I think we’re related.” Liam blurted out with it because he couldn’t allow Niall to keep on going, suddenly being all happy and hopeful, if what the brunette had had to say would ruin absolutely everything. Considering the silence after he had said it, it had already happened.

“ _What?!_ ” Niall’s hand was still in Liam’s as he stared at Liam with a dropped jaw but it had gotten limp and the brunette knew he would pull it away any second. Fuck, he shouldn’t have said anything, not without any proof. “We’re not fucking related, Liam, if your mother told you that then she’s lying, she-“

“She didn’t, I told you, it’s just… Fuck, Ni, my mom told me herself she’d never hold a grudge against someone for so long after a simple fight and we both know all this is real fucking strange and then she told me about your dad and that she wouldn’t care if I dated another guy and… shit, it just made sense in my head. What if they had a fight because my dad is… _your_ dad as well?” As soon as it was out, Niall had pulled his hand out of Liam’s, as if he had suddenly gotten burned and the brunette felt tears building up in his eyes, his pulse going crazy right now because he had no idea what was going to happen, what Niall was going to say or what he would wanna do. 

“That… that’s fucking crazy, Liam.” The blonde’s face was expressionless, he was just staring at the brunette and Liam didn’t know what to say because it was obvious that this theory made sense in Niall’s head as well. Of course it did, it was the very first time that anything they had ever come up with actually sounded legit and they all knew it. “That’s not true.”

“I don’t know if it is… “ And maybe Liam didn’t actually wanna know, because if it WAS true… “I just… I couldn’t think of another solution.”

“So you think it’s true and… and you decided you didn’t care if I’m actually your _brother?!_ ” Okay, well, maybe Niall was referring to that kiss downstairs, but in all honesty, it was exactly why Liam had done it, because he had been afraid that if he told Niall, that they’d maybe never get to kiss again. Which maybe was a really fucking weird thing to think about but like… there was no proof and also… Liam just couldn’t… he couldn’t just fall out of love with Niall, he had always thought they’d stay together for years. Maybe forever. 

“Fuck, I don’t know, Niall, I… I don’t want it to be true, but… what if it is?” Liam was pretty sure he’d start crying soon, he was just so done at this point, his head hurt and so did his wrist and he just wanted to be doing right now what they had been waiting for for days now. They should have never gone on that vacation because ever since they had gotten back, it almost felt unbearable to be without Niall. 

Niall didn’t answer, he just looked away from the brunette’s face and Liam could see his eyes shimmer and it was killing him. They had always said how nothing their families had had going on could have changed anything between them and now it had changed absolutely everything and the brunette had no idea how to deal with it.

“One second, you guys don’t even have any proof for this, do you? It’s just one possible option out of a hundred.” It was Harry who interjected, probably to cheer them up but Liam really doubted that he would have been able to come up with just two more options. Apparently, Niall felt the same way.

“Tell me a few more options then.” The blonde almost snapped and Liam knew he wasn’t actually angry but rather afraid and hurt and disappointed and confused and… everything Liam felt as well. 

“I don’t know, but you guys being related… that makes no sense. You don’t even look alike.” True, they didn’t, but then again, Liam knew a lot of people who didn’t look like their siblings. “Also, both your parents are still together, don’t you think at least one of them would have broken up after this chaos?”

“My mom would have lost her share of the company.” It was all Liam could think of and he didn’t even feel bad saying it because it was true, his mother was definitely a rather materialistic person.

“I don’t think my dad or whoever he is ever loved my mom.” Niall sounded as if he was actually dead inside and of course Liam kinda felt numb as well, but hearing and seeing the blonde like this was actually scaring him. He wanted to reach out for the blonde so badly but he wasn’t sure if he was still allowed. “I bet it’s true.”

“Niall, c’mon, this isn’t some Game of Thrones episode, if you two were actually half brothers, don’t you think Liam’s mom would have said anything? Like, let’s be real, if it was true, his mother would now be at home knowing that he is still with you even though you’re related.” Liam had maybe never been so happy about Louis speaking up before and putting things into perspective, but sadly, the blonde didn’t seem to feel the same way.

“She told Liam he should break up with me, she’s probably waiting for him to figure it out so she doesn’t have to tell him herself. Plus, it’s not like she can change the fact that we’ve kissed and had sex, so what does it matter now if we’re together for a bit longer?” Wait…

“A _bit_ longer?” So he wanted to break up with Liam now?! 

“If we’re fucking related then… “ Niall broke off, it sounded as if he had been about to say that he definitely wouldn’t wanna be with Liam anymore if it turned out that they were half brothers and like, the brunette really got it, he just hadn’t thought that… that the decision would be so damn easy for the blonde. 

“You’re not related, this is ridiculous, guys, seriously.” Louis seemed to already be over it somehow and Liam really wished that he could have felt the same way but right now, his biggest concern was that Niall sounded so affected by it as if they already had confirmation. “Maybe none of it is true, maybe Liam’s mother just lied about everything and your dad is actually your dad and she just wanted to start drama.”

“We’re not in primary school, Lou, why would his mom lie about that? And it’s true, I don’t look like anybody in my family and I don’t have any pictures of me when I was really little and-“

“But what does that have to do with anything? If there’s no pictures of you when you were little it rather suggests that you were adopted or something. Plus, you also don’t look like Liam, like… _at all_ , no offense, but it’s true.” Apparently, Louis had taken it upon himself to convince the blonde and Liam really appreciated that because he himself didn’t know what to say anymore. He wasn’t that convinced either, he was the one who had come up with the theory after all, hadn’t he? And now he really regretted having said it oud loud. “Also, why didn’t you ask your mother about it, Liam?”

“Who says she’s gonna tell me the truth? She might not say anything or she might just lie and say it’s true even though it’s not once she realizes it’d cause trouble for us.” Liam hadn’t wanted to say that it would make them break up because… even if it was wrong, the brunette wasn’t sure how he’d be able to break up with Niall over this, when they were both in love with each other and when nothing at all had happened between them and they’d see each other at the same uni all the time and… Liam wouldn’t have been able to do it. “If I ask her she might just say yes and then we’ll both feel like shit and don’t know what to do just for it to turn out not to be true.”

“Well… then you only got one more option.” Now Louis was making it sound as if it was already decided, as if he was the one calling the shots now or something. “Niall’s gotta ask his parents.”

“Right, I’m just gonna go to my parents and ask them if I’m related to Liam, that really makes sense. And while I’m at it I’ll just mention that I’m dating him as well and then they’ll definitely tell me the truth, thanks for the suggestion.” Niall’s words came out really sarcastic, but whenever Liam looked at him, the younger boy seemed rather stressed out. “Plus, it’s literally the one thing Liam’s mom told him I shouldn’t do, so I’m not gonna do it. My parents would kill me if they found out.”

“Then… what else are you gonna do?” When Louis asked, nobody knew what to say and they all just looked at one another, completely clueless and in Liam’s case, on the verge of tears.

There was nothing they could have done and eventually, they switched the topic and Liam almost broke his head trying to figure out if it would still be alright to touch Niall. They should have been talking alone, should have talked everything that had happened today out, but the brunette was suddenly scared to ask Niall to speak to him alone, because… what if he said no? 

So they just stayed in Louis’ room and Liam knew that his mother knew that he was with Niall, but he would have still stayed here for as long as possible just to be with the blonde. Even if they weren’t touching and even if they weren’t really speaking directly to one another and the whole situation was just bizarre and uncomfortable.

Eventually, Niall seemed to decide that he couldn’t stand it anymore.

“I think… I think I’m gonna go home.” He just said it like that, in the second where no one really said anything and Liam felt his stomach drop. “I gotta, uh, finish my presentation.”

“Okay… do you want me to drive you?” It was Harry who offered and Liam didn’t know what this was all about, all he knew was that Niall definitely did not have another presentation in the next few days.

“It’s fine, I can walk, I-“

“It’s fine, it’s only a five minute drive or so.” In fact, Harry had already gotten up and now Liam realized that he was doing it to give them more time together because they all knew Liam would have definitely not stayed by himself. Not that he didn’t like Louis, but Liam was just here for Niall after all. “Li, should I drop you off as well?” 

“Yeah, um… thanks.” Liam agreed immediately and it was stupid as hell, but he was actually too afraid to check Niall’s face, because seeing him annoyed about Liam coming as well would have probably killed the brunette.

It was so awkward, walking downstairs and Louis and Harry saying goodbye for a few minutes and then the whole car ride… Liam didn’t know what to do, he wanted to talk to Niall about everything, alone, but then again, what would they have said? They had talked about it already with the other two and it was more than obvious that Niall actually didn’t even want to talk and that he wanted to be alone right now. So who was Liam to force him to be around him?

Harry didn’t park directly in front of Niall’s house even though it was already dark and Liam tried not to freak out about the blonde getting out and disappearing inside, possibly without another word. But then that didn’t really happen.

“Thanks for driving me… “ Niall half mumbled, he was in the front seat and Liam was in the back, feeling even worse than he had a few days ago when they had said goodbye at the airport. At last then he had known that they both couldn’t wait to see each other again. 

“No problem.” Harry said it as if nothing had ever happened, as if he had simply driven Niall home for no reason at all.

Liam was convinced that Niall was going to get out of that car without even saying goodbye to him, but there was actually a second where the blonde didn’t seem to move at all after taking off his seatbelt, and then he was suddenly turning around in his seat and stretching towards Liam until the brunette got the hint and met him halfway so they could kiss.

It was very brief, but not rushed, and Liam definitely felt a little bit better afterwards, even though the blonde had definitely hesitated before kissing him.

“Can I… can we talk, later?” Liam just needed to ask, even if Niall would pull a face or something equally as bad, because how would he have managed to let him go now without knowing when they were going to see each other again? 

“Yeah… “ Niall didn’t hesitate though, he kept looking at Liam for another moment before getting out of the car, leaving Liam behind feeling really empty. He hadn’t wanted Niall to leave, he didn’t wanna be without him, but… they couldn’t have really gone anywhere except for staying at Louis’ house, which Niall clearly hadn’t wanted.

“You okay?” Harry asked after a moment and Liam made sure to say yes while at the same time choking back his tears because he already wanted to text Niall again. He should have made him stay, he should have somehow gotten Niall alone and made sure they talked this out, but he hadn’t and now it was too late and Liam felt like absolute shit once again.

 

\----------------

 

It was one in the morning and Niall still hadn’t left his room ever since locking himself into it a while ago. He didn’t know what to do and he hated that they were in such an impossible position where he had to bloody think about his boyfriend, the love of his life, possibly being his _half brother_. The amount of googling Niall had done ever since he had gotten home probably wasn’t normal either.

He didn’t wanna break up with Liam, he never would have, but he didn’t know whether the brunette would have done it and yeah, Niall’s very first reaction upon kinda realizing that this theory sounded plausible had been that no way, they couldn’t stay together, right? It would have been wrong and… also probably illegal, Niall wasn’t really familiar with things of that sort, but then again, how would he have even managed to stay away from Liam?

The blonde was sure that if he had stayed longer, he would have definitely started to feel worse, sitting there next to Liam and talking about pointless things… it had been too much for the blonde and he had just needed some time to himself to think this through. Now though, after having been alone for way too long, Niall was really craving Liam’s presence.

It was his own fault that he was alone of course, he and Liam hadn’t even had a chance to talk by themselves, but that was because Niall hadn’t wanted to have that chance. If he had been alone with Liam after looking forward to being with him again for a few days now, he knew he wouldn’t have been able to think clearly, he would have just been all over the older boy and told himself that it was all fine, that it wasn’t true.

But what if it was? And how in God’s name had none of it ever come out? How come Niall didn’t know that his dad wasn’t his dad?! The only relief he had right now was the fact that he didn’t look like his mother either, so that kinda spoke against Liam’s theory as well, but like… what else could have caused that fight?! And who the hell were Niall’s real parents then?

Niall and Liam had texted a bit after Niall had gotten home, but nothing really deep and they had kinda stopped after a while because Niall had told Liam he would go to bed. Which, to be fair, he had done, but he wasn’t able to sleep without the brunette and after everything that had happened today, so… he was just lying there, feeling pretty damn lonely and just like complete shit.

At one point, Niall did drift off for a while, dreaming about really bizarre things he couldn’t remember once he woke up again, squinting his eyes shut as he looked at the screen of his phone, which showed 2 am. It only made Niall feel lonelier if possible, he could have been with Liam right now, asleep in his arms and feeling all safe and loved and instead… instead he was alone in his bed, feeling tears building up in his eyes once more. 

Niall was really questioning his choices all of a sudden, especially in regards to him freaking out like that whenever something happened between him and Liam, as if they weren’t able to have adult conversations because the blonde simply stormed off all the time. Though this time was kinda different, the blonde still felt really guilty.

He tried to tell himself that they could talk tomorrow, that his reaction had been normal, that everything would be fine, but it wasn’t working at all and if anything, it just made things worse. The truth was, Niall was so fucking terrified of Liam leaving him and breaking up that Niall always ended up being the one to leave first, just so the brunette couldn’t.

Niall had no idea what he had been thinking, but he was already holding his phone to his ear, still on the verge of tears as he was determined to get Liam to pick up the phone, even if he needed to call another 10 times to wake him up. Turns out though, he only needed one try. 

“Niall?” Liam had picked the phone up so fast that there was absolutely no way that he had been asleep and maybe Niall hadn’t quite expected that because he felt his heart speeding up all of a sudden upon hearing the older’s voice. Something was definitely wrong with him, this was already the second time he had run away from their problems just to call Liam up and beg for forgiveness.

“Hi… sorry if… if I woke you up.” The blonde cleared his throat a little, not quite knowing what to say actually, he had just wanted to hear Liam’s voice. 

“You didn’t… I couldn’t sleep anyways.” Liam was clearly trying to not make it sound so bad, but the blonde knew how he was feeling anyways because he himself felt the very same. “Everything okay?”

For a moment, Niall wanted to say yes, wanted to keep on pretending and have some mindless small talk, again avoiding the thing they really needed to talk about but then his throat got a bit tight and he decided that there was no use in doing any of that because they both knew what was going on anyways. “Um… not really.”

“Do you wanna talk?” Maybe it was really sad that Liam actually sounded hopeful and Niall hated himself for not having stayed before, it’s just… being at Louis’ house with the other two there and them not really having a chance to be alone and the blonde had just needed some time to think about it, alone.

“Yeah, but… “ But Niall didn’t really know how to say what he really wanted after how he had acted before and now it would have really served him right had Liam simply said no. Then again, it was Liam and Niall knew he would have never done that, which only made things even worse. “Maybe… maybe I can walk to your house and-“

“No, I don’t want you to walk around by yourself at night, you’d get lost.” True, Liam didn’t sound as if he was making fun of Niall at all but the blonde still felt his heart drop at how firm Liam had sounded, as if there was no bloody way he would allow him to do that. “I can’t climb up to your window with my wrist, but… I can come pick you up and we just talk in my car.”

“Can you drive?” The very last thing Niall wanted was for Liam to get hurt even more or to have an accident at 2 in the morning just because the blonde was a bloody idiot. 

“Yeah, I’m sure it’ll be fine, it doesn’t hurt anymore.” There was some moving in the background, so Liam had apparently already decided that he was going to drive over to his house and the blonde would have been lying had he said that he wasn’t excited as well, forcing himself to still voice his worries though.

“Won’t your parents hear you?” Things were already bad, Liam’s mother didn’t need to find out about Liam sneaking out of the house to meet up with Niall in the middle of the night.

“No, they won’t, they’ve gone to sleep ages ago and the house is too big.” Right, Niall should have considered that, he hadn’t been to Liam’s house in a while though, which only made him even sadder, if that was possible. “I’m gonna text you once I’m there, okay? I’ll park a few houses away, just in case.”

“Okay… thank you.” Niall couldn’t help it, he thanked the older boy without really thinking and maybe he should have apologized instead, but he was going to do that once they were together anyways.

“Don’t thank me, baby, there’s nothing I wanna do more than to see you right now.” Liam said it with so much honesty that Niall felt his heart flatter, a single tear dripping down his cheek that he hastily wiped away. He couldn’t have imagined not being with Liam anymore and maybe knowing that was answer enough to his worries.

It seemed to take ages until Liam got to Niall’s street. The blonde had changed his clothes twice by the time Liam texted him, trying to be as quiet as somehow possible as he sneaked out of the house. Not like anybody would have genuinely cared to see him leaving, but they would have still gotten mad had Niall woken them on accident.

He needed a little to find Liam’s car because the older boy had turned off the engine and Niall actually almost passed him by. Okay, this was definitely kinda creepy, he was really glad now that Liam hadn’t allowed him to walk to his house because the blonde felt kinda paranoid even when his hand was already on the door handle.

It was really dark but Liam’s phone screen was lightning up the car as soon as Niall had gotten into the passenger seat and closed the door behind himself, breathing in the older’s scent and almost immediately being put a little bit at ease. “Hi… “

“Hi.” They weren’t touching, Niall wanted to but he hesitated, not knowing whether it was appropriate, but then he saw Liam’s arm flinch and he decided to just fuck it as he leaned over to kiss the older boy.

The kiss was a bit longer than when they had said goodbye in Harry’s car and Niall was relieved when Liam intertwined their fingers once they had pulled apart, squeezing the younger’s hand just like he always did. “I’m sorry for… for behaving like a baby before, I don’t know what’s wrong with me and why I can’t just stay and talk about things, I… I just needed to think… about all of this.”

“It’s okay, Nialler, you don’t have to apologize, I really get it. I shouldn’t have just said it all like that, and especially not in front of Harry and Louis, I just… they would have found out anyways and I just wanted to get it out somehow. It’s okay if you need time alone, yeah? It’s… a lot.” It really was, and even worse than Niall could have made up in his wildest dreams, but it was what it was and they couldn’t change it, no matter how hard they tried.

“Yeah… I guess I was just really afraid that you would, like… that you’d wanna break up with me and… I mean, if you do then-“

“I don’t, I would never, you know that, babe. And Louis is right, the chances of my theory actually being true are kinda small and… if it was true… “ Liam kinda broke off then but the blonde knew what he had been about to say and he knew it was wrong, but he felt the same. He wouldn’t have wanted to break up either, it was wrong, but nobody would ever know, would they? Maybe not even Niall and Liam themselves. “I don’t think I could stand not being with you.”

“Me neither… and maybe… maybe it’s all completely different than we think, right?” Or maybe not, it was still the closest theory they had and Niall was determined to come up with something else but so far, he hadn’t really been very successful. “If I’m home alone at some point, maybe I could like, go search for my birth certificate or something.”

“Do you think they would keep it at home though? If there was something going on?” True, that sounded highly unlikely and if Niall’s parents really had kept such a serious thing from the blonde for all of his life, they surely wouldn’t have made such a stupid mistake. 

“I don’t know, maybe… “ Niall thought about it for a moment, now desperate to come up with a solution or at least a next step because doing something about their situation was the only thing that was really distracting him. Then again… maybe he didn’t actually wanna know the truth. “I could go to the hospital where I was born, they should have a birth certificate, right?”

“Do you know where you were born?” When Liam asked, Niall had been about to say that yes, of course he knew that, but the longer he thought about it… 

“On my passport it says I was born here, so I have to be, right? I mean, my parents couldn’t have just written anything, I guess.” They weren’t criminals after all, were they? Only possibly cheaters. “Then again… “

“Hm?” Liam sounded confused, he was still holding Niall’s hand and the blonde had made sure to put it in his lap, wrapping his other one around Liam’s as well just because he could.

“I don’t know if… if I wanna know.” There, Niall had said it. Right now, they were unsure and they had no proof, so morally speaking, there was no reason at all for them to think about the next step considering their relationship, however if they had confirmation… 

“You don’t have to try and find out, Niall, we don’t have to do anything at all if you don’t want to. But I can promise you that… that if things turn out bad, I’m still gonna be there.” Because it was still dark in the car, Niall couldn’t really see Liam’s face when he looked at him, but he knew the brunette was being completely serious about this. “I don’t know if you feel the same, but… I did a lot of thinking tonight and I came to the conclusion that there’s just no way that I’d be able to walk away from what we have, you mean the world to me and I love you and I can see us being together for a really long time and… I wouldn’t ever give that up, for nothing in the world.”

“I feel the same, Li, you know I do… shit, I’ve been wanting this for years and I’ve never felt the way I feel about you about anybody else before and I wanna be with you always… I’m just really scared.” Scared was a bit of an understatement although hearing Liam say those things was definitely calming and yet they didn’t manage to erase every worry Niall had. “I’m just scared that… if things do turn out bad and we’ve got confirmation… what if it still influences us? I mean, we can say these things now because we don’t know the truth, but… we can’t really know what happens once we do.”

“Baby… “ Liam started, waiting for the blonde to turn his head towards him before reaching out to cup his cheek with his free hand, looking Niall in the eyes as far as that was possible, his voice firm and honest but at the same time really soft. “I’m promising you right now that no matter what happens, I’m not going to change my mind. I’m not going to leave you, I love you and I wanna be with you for as long as you want me to.” 

“I love you too, Li… I’d never want you to leave.” Maybe that would change once they knew the truth, but Niall was pretty sure that it wouldn’t. There was never any guarantee anyways but he really trusted Liam and his own feelings for the brunette were too strong to simply change his mind like that. “What if we don’t do anything to find out if it’s true and then your mom tells you the truth to make us break up and-“

“Then we don’t have to do what she wants, Nialler. It doesn’t matter, okay? The longer I think about it, the less likely it seems, I mean… my mother would have told me, right? She doesn’t even know that I was thinking about that, for all she knows I could just never figure it out. Also, she would have probably told me right away because she wants us to break up and then that would have been the perfect thing to say.” True, Niall felt a little bit reassured after Liam had said that, but of course he was still worried at the same time and he just wanted things to go back to how they had been before. 

“I guess… I guess you really don’t know what you have until it’s gone.” Niall said it without thinking, but it was true anyways, they had been sneaking around thinking there was nothing worse than this and just like that, things had gotten even worse. 

“Nothing’s gone, Nialler, everything’s just the way it was. And actually, it’s better because my mom now knows and she didn’t freak out over it.” Well, she still didn’t want them to be together but apparently she wouldn’t actively try to keep them apart or tell Niall’s parents, so that was something… right? “Maybe I should tell my dad as well… maybe if they both know and they realize we’re not gonna break up they’ll eventually be okay with it.”

“But they wanted you to stay away from me all your life, they won’t just change their mind.” Plus, Niall wasn’t that good at meeting other people’s parents and thinking about meeting Liam’s actually made him wanna die.

“Not from you, from your parents. Maybe it really is just that simple and they had a fight and my mom is overreacting.” Now Liam was clearly trying to make it sound better than it was and the blonde couldn’t even blame him for it. “I mean… if she really wanted me to break up so badly with you, she would have surely tried harder to convince me.”

“Or maybe she just doesn’t wanna be the bad guy.” Okay, now Niall was really reaching, but he just needed to make sure that they were really considering every possibility. 

“No, she wouldn’t care about that, trust me. I think… I think they’re all just overreacting.” Liam was trying hard to sound convincing, Niall of course noticed but he really wanted the brunette to talk him into calming down about this whole thing. And it did help, talking about it now, more than Niall being alone in his room and worrying could have ever done. 

“But my dad isn’t my dad and he never thought about telling me.” If that was true, but why would Liam’s mother make that up? “I mean, I’m happy he’s not related to me, I just think it’s really strange. Maybe I really am adopted.”

“Do you… do you wish you were?” Liam asked after the tiniest bit of hesitation and Niall didn’t actually need to think about it to know his answer.

“Kinda, yeah. But then again, maybe that means my real parents are dead or maybe they wanted me even less, so I guess it doesn’t really matter. I’m off age anyways, I could just go, I just have no money to do it.” And also, where would Niall have gone, let’s be real. “I mean, it’s fine, I guess, I don’t care anymore. It’s just nice knowing I’m not related to him.”

“Yeah… I can understand that. But if you were, it wouldn’t mean you’d ever be like him, you’re way too nice, baby.” There was a smile playing around Liam’s lips, as far as Niall could tell when it was so dark and he really wished they could have somehow been closer besides holding hands. “I bet everything will be okay.”

“I hope you’re right… sorry again for acting like a baby. And also back when we had that fight… if I would just stay for once to talk it out we’d probably have a lot less problems.” Niall still felt guilty, even more now because Liam had had to drive here at 2 am even though he had spent the night in hospital because of his wrist and a possible concussion.

“We don’t have any problems between us though, and I understand that you needed time in both cases and in both cases you were also the one to call me up so we can talk, so… it’s all good, babe, I promise, okay? We’ll make it work somehow.” Liam was being so oddly positive, it was hard not to give in to it, be lulled in by his promises because Niall was pretty sure Liam would have never broken a promise intentionally. “Are you tired?”

“Hmm, no, not anymore, I guess. You?” Right, Liam probably wanted to go back home and-

“Me neither. Should we drive somewhere?” When he suggested it, Niall was about to ask him if he was crazy, but then he thought about it and Liam actually sounded kinda excited and like… why wouldn’t they drive somewhere?

“Where?” The blonde didn’t care, he was just suddenly really looking forward to getting away from his own house.

“I don’t know, anywhere is good.” When Liam slowly started pulling his hand out of Niall’s, the blonde almost panicked a bit, but then he let it happen seeing as Liam obviously couldn’t drive with just his bad hand. “You need to put your seatbelt on.”

“Right… thanks.” Niall would have laughed over that had they been in a different situation, so he opted for smiling as he did what Liam had told him while the brunette started the engine. His car was quiet but the blonde was still paranoid for a few minutes that somebody would magically see them together, but those worries passed once Liam had driven out of the town and it was like some imaginary weight falling off of the blonde. 

 

\------------------

 

“… Hello?” Liam wasn’t sure if he was actually awake while holding the phone to his ear, not even having blinked his eyes open just yet. He had just blindly reached for the source of the noise, his hands eventually having grabbed a hold of the phone.

“Um, Liam?” Right, this was not a voice Liam immediately recognized on the phone, plus he was really sleepy and about to pass out again any second, so… “Where’s Niall?”

“Right here, I… “ Okay, Liam needed another second to realize that he was talking to Louis and that this was actually Niall’s phone. The blonde was still fast asleep, having draped himself all around the brunette, his head snuggled into the crook of Liam’s neck, his breath going even and the brunette automatically held him tighter. “Sorry, I didn’t realize it was his phone… do you want me to wake him?”

“Wake him? It’s 2 pm, I… wait, where even are you guys?” This was not what Liam had expected to hear, but he quickly decided that it didn’t really matter. They had skipped even more uni now, but it was only 2 days so they were good and they had kinda known they wouldn’t go to their classes after last night. The only one who’d ever ask about it would probably be Liam’s mother, but then again, she possibly had left the house before Liam would have usually woken up. 

“At a hotel.” Liam quickly made sure to reassure Louis that they weren’t even in town before the other boy could have freaked out and thinking about it, maybe this had been really spontaneous and kinda stupid, but it also kinda made Liam wonder why they had never thought about doing this before. 

“So everything is alright between you two? I actually just called because I didn’t see either of you at uni and I wanted to make sure Niall’s not home alone worrying.” Louis tried to pass it off as a joke kind of, but Liam knew that he really cared about the blonde and he was really glad that the younger boy had a friend like that. 

“Yeah, we’re good, we talked last night and… we’re good.” Liam repeated himself after realizing he didn’t know if Niall would have wanted him to say any more, plus it was really everything Louis needed to know, right? They were both obviously still afraid of what was going to happen, but Liam felt better about it after hearing the blonde say that he would never wanna break up with him. 

“Okay, I’m glad… then just tell Niall he doesn’t need to call me back and… have fun at the hotel.” Louis said the last thing with a very amused undertone so Liam made sure to thank him anyways because even though they hadn’t exactly had FUN last night, going to sleep with Niall in his arms after waiting so long for it had definitely been a pretty good feeling.

Liam didn’t bother searching for his own phone after hanging up, he just let his eyes fall closed once more, wrapping his other arm around his boyfriend as well, just listening to him breathing in the quiet room. He kinda wanted Niall to wake up, but then again, he would eventually wake up anyways and it was really nice to just be lying here and appreciate the fact that they were able to do this. And they could have been doing this all along, Liam had just never thought about it. 

He hadn’t really been thinking last night driving out of town but Niall hadn’t said a word and it’s not like they could have really gone anywhere else. Liam had momentarily thought about driving up the hill where they had had their first kiss, but then Niall had yawned next to him while they had been talking and the brunette had suddenly really felt like checking them into a hotel.

They had basically fallen asleep a second after getting into the room, but it had been really late already, so that explained why they had slept until now. Also, not like it mattered, right? They had been so damn careful all along and then Liam’s mother had still walked in on them, maybe they just needed to try and live a little after everything that had happened. 

Liam was in an inner conflict about whether he wanted to know the truth or not. He did wanna know for himself, but Niall would have had to be the one to go and ask for his birth certificate and Liam wasn’t sure if he wanted the blonde to do that. He obviously couldn’t ask his parents and he had sounded quite nervous about going to the hospital he had apparently been born at.

Then again, if he had really been born in that hospital, what did that say? He couldn’t have been born here if he had really been adopted and his father possibly had signed his name even though he wasn’t really Niall’s dad, so it would just be more lies and it wouldn’t give them any clarity. Plus, Liam didn’t wanna stress the blonde out because he was stressed enough already.

The older boy ended up just lying awake and holding the blonde for quite a while, not wanting to go anywhere at all. He had gotten the room for 2 nights because he had already known yesterday, or very early this morning, that they’d never managed to check out before 10 am anyways. Plus, why would they have? Missing a little bit of uni wasn’t going to kill them and there wasn’t really anything that kept them in their hometown. 

When Niall started stirring, Liam was still absently drawing patterns onto his back, trying to lie still though because he didn’t wanna fully wake the blonde on accident. Niall did move but only more into Liam until he was almost on top of him and the brunette had to smile, hugging the younger boy close to his chest and pressing a kiss to his head.

“Liam…?” Niall sounded exhausted, but he had probably noticed that Liam was awake because of the kiss so the brunette did it again before answering.

”I’m here, babe, you can sleep some more if you want.” They had the whole day now anyways, seeing as it was already this late, so there was no real reason to go back now. 

“Hmm… “ Was all the blonde made before cuddling deeper into the brunette though that barely seemed possible at this point. “It’s cold… “

“One second.” Liam made sure to move them as little as possible when he pulled the blanket up higher, rubbing his palm up and down the younger’s back then to try and warm him up a little bit, not wanting him to freeze. “Better?”

“Hmm, a bit… do we have to get up?” Niall was asking as if he was talking in his sleep or something, he sometimes did that actually, Liam barely ever understood anything but he still found that it was really sweet.

“No, we don’t have to get up at all… we already missed all our classes. Louis called a while ago to see if you’re still alive.” Louis had told Liam there was no need to tell Niall, but the brunette thought that maybe Niall wanted to know about it anyways.

“Oh… he’s probably the only one that noticed I’m gone anyways.” It didn’t sound sad or anything, just like a simple statement and Liam wanted to tell him that that probably wasn’t true but actually… Harry and Louis were the only ones that knew about them so they were probably also the only ones who had noticed their absence. Well, and Liam’s mother of course, but she was still at work at this time and even if she weren’t, she wouldn’t have questioned where Liam was at 2.30 pm. “I don’t ever wanna go back.”

“Let’s not.” Liam said even though they both knew that they had to, but just thinking about it and pretending for a little bit was kind of nice. 

Niall didn’t answer for a moment, but then he suddenly moved again and Liam loosened his arms a little bit because he wasn’t sure what the blonde was planning on doing. He just pushed himself up though before stretching a bit and Liam was surprised when the younger boy suddenly kissed him on the lips, softly and slowly.

It was really nice, to just be lying there and kissing Niall, not getting too desperate or anything because the blonde had only just woken up and Liam still felt kinda tired as well. Still, Niall tried to pry Liam’s lips open after they had been kissing for a bit and the brunette of course gave in easily, turning them around until they were both lying on their sides without breaking the kiss. 

“Li… “ Niall mumbled after a few minutes, his lips still brushing the older boy’s and Liam could have probably fallen asleep again now. It seemed though, that the blonde had other plans for some reason. “I wanna blow you.”

“I… aren’t you tired?” Obviously, Liam wasn’t going to say no if this is what Niall wanted to do, but he was still really surprised, thinking that the blonde must have been really exhausted. 

“Kinda… do you not want me to?” They were discussing this as if they were talking about the weather, but then again, they had slept with each other countless times and there was no reason at all to not just talk about it.

“I do… if you want to.” It wasn’t unusual, for Niall to say something like that and then do it, but considering everything that had happened yesterday and stuff, it surprised Liam just slightly. Not that he thought Niall was disgusted by being physical with Liam now because they had already agreed that the possibility of them actually being related was pretty damn slim, but the blonde’s reaction had still been heavier than Liam’s so the brunette was slightly unsure about the motivation behind this. 

Then again, Niall was being really cuddly and affectionate and not at all as if yesterday was still affecting him, so Liam didn’t say anything when the younger boy started kissing him again and then down his neck. It was kinda dark in the room because Liam had drawn the curtains last night, but he was keeping his eyes closed anyways.

Niall had done this many times before, but Liam was still getting hard embarrassingly fast when the younger’s hand had found its way down to palm him over his sweatpants, pushing the blanket down I the process as well as he apparently wasn’t cold anymore. The blonde really wasn’t joking around, he had instructed Liam to take his shirt off after a few seconds, kissing down his chest while pushing his hand into the older’s boxer shorts, causing Liam to shudder a bit when he wrapped his fingers around him.

The blonde lazily jerked him off for a bit, his movements kinda restricted by the clothing but Liam still had a hard time trying to hold back and to not be on the edge already without the younger’s mouth having ever been on him. It was hard though, with Niall’s hand wrapped around his erection and his lips around Liam’s nipple, not doing anything too crazy and yet still almost pushing the brunette too far after only a few minutes.

By the time Niall had moved down and had pulled Liam’s cock out of his pants, the older boy wasn’t really sure anymore how he was even going to last longer than a few seconds as the blonde’s hand wrapped back around him, jerking him off slowly before he very unexpectedly pressed a kiss to the tip. “Fuck… “

“Are you okay?” Niall chuckled, his breath hitting the wet and sensitive skin of Liam’s erection while he was still spreading the precum and Liam wanted to whine. 

“Yeah, just… “ _Just please get going_ was all the brunette wanted to say, but then he didn’t because he kind of got cut off anyways once Niall had wrapped his lips back around him.

Maybe it was because it was morning and Liam kinda felt sensitive anyways, but it only took Niall bopping his head a few times for Liam to already feel the heat coiling in his stomach. He tried to be soft as he curled his fingers into the hair in the back of Niall’s neck, not pushing down or anything put just so he’d have something to hold onto while the blonde was sucking him off.

Seeing as they didn’t have to be quiet, Liam didn’t hold back any of his moans when Niall had built a rhythm, only to go slower once more after Liam’s breathing had gotten slightly panicked. His hand never left the older’s aching erection but his mouth did unfortunately, teasing the brunette a bit with kitten licks to the exposed skin whenever he rolled back his foreskin and Liam would have _loved_ to push his hips up, but he didn’t want to hurt the blonde.

“Baby… please… “ Liam’s voice was nothing more than a breath followed by a moan when Niall did exactly what the brunette had wanted him to do. 

Niall’s mouth was so hot and wet and perfect around Liam, the older boy simply couldn’t take it any longer as soon as the blonde started bopping his head again, letting Liam’s erection go a bit deeper than he normally did and though Liam was scared about choking him, he didn’t really have a chance to warn the younger boy, except for pulling at his hair a bit.

Liam’s orgasm kinda washed over him out of nowhere and he came steadily into Niall’s mouth with a groan, the younger boy working him through it without missing a beat. When Liam slowly came down from it, his head was still spinning as Niall crawled up to press his lips back against the brunette’s.

A shudder went through Liam’s body when he could taste his own cum in the blonde’s mouth that Niall hadn’t just yet swallowed and it was really dirty but kinda hot at the same time and Liam’s face was burning as he grabbed a tighter hold on his boyfriend, more desperate to kiss him now than before. Maybe they really wouldn’t ever go back home.

 

\-----------

 

Niall wasn’t actually sure what he was doing, or why he hadn’t told anybody about it, he just knew that he needed to know the truth in order to be able to come to terms with it. Liam and Niall had stayed at the hotel for two nights and they had gotten home yesterday after Liam’s mother had called him and basically guessed that he had kinda snuck off with the blonde. She hadn’t gotten mad, according to Liam, but Niall hadn’t heard her through the phone.

It had been wonderful, being all alone with Liam in a hotel room again, they had just talked and kissed and had sex and never even left for a whole day. Reality had hit the blonde though once they had gotten back home and instead of finally going to his classes again today, he was on the way to the hospital with his passport in his bag, trying not to freak out. 

He told himself that it didn’t matter, that no matter what was going to happen, he would stay with Liam, he wouldn’t push him away or run like he usually did. Maybe it was wrong, but what was Niall supposed to do? He was head over heels for the brunette and he wouldn’t wanna imagine a life without him.

Still, Niall hadn’t told him about this because if he’d get bad news, he wanted a little bit of time to think about it.

Niall had googled and he was sure he could have somehow gotten a birth certificate online or whatever, but if he went there personally, it’d really limit the dangers of anybody finding out about it and also, he wouldn’t have to wait as long maybe. Also, maybe they wouldn’t even give him one anyways, right? 

The blonde needed embarrassingly long to convince himself to actually go inside the building, having major flashbacks from a few days ago, when he had walked out of here alone after Liam’s mother had seen him. He forced himself to keep going though, having to ask first for the right floor although the hospital was fairly small, seeing as the town wasn’t big either.

Which was maybe why Niall shouldn’t have been surprised to see the same nurse again that had kinda kicked him out of Liam’s room. Not in a mean way though, she had just gently reminded him of the time. “Yes?”

“Um, hi, I just-“

“Oh, weren’t you here a few days ago? Your friend was already dismissed.” Right, so she recognized Niall as well and Niall wasn’t sure how to feel about this because Liam’s mother had clearly stated that she knew people who worked in this hospital. 

“Yeah, I know, I’m not here because of that, actually… it’s kinda complicated. I kinda… my parents lost my birth certificate but I need it for… something at uni and I don’t really know how to get a new one.” Right, judging by her facial expression, she already regretted having been nice. “It’d be helpful already if you could tell me whether I was born here or not.”

“Alright, well… “ She kinda sounded like she wanted to say no right away, but then she looked at Niall a little bit longer and then over her shoulder but literally no one else was there. “Do you have an ID? I’m not sure I have access to these files… “

“Yeah, I, uh, I got my passport.” So Niall handed it to her, his heart beating quite unsteadily, aware of how fishy and weird all of this sounded.

“I mean, it says on your passport you were born in this town and this is the only hospital, so unless your mother didn’t have a homebirth… “ Right, what if she had?

“I still need to know, it’s… important for something and I can’t ask her.” God, Niall hated this so much, he was nervous but he also felt embarrassed and then also guilty. Plus, it’d probably turn out that his parents were indeed his parents and then Niall still wouldn’t know if this was all just fake or not. 

The nurse didn’t ask anymore questions and Niall didn’t know what he had expected, but he certainly hadn’t expected for her to be done after literally 4 seconds. “Well, this is weird… you’ve never been admitted to the hospital, I don’t have a patient file for you, so… you also weren’t born here.”

“Wait, but… what does that mean? That my mother had me at home?” And she had simply never brought Niall to any check ups? They didn’t have a doctor for that in town, Niall was pretty sure, they really only had one dentist. 

“Possibly, I can’t give you any information on that, I’m sorry. All I can tell you is that there is nothing there, apparently you’ve never been here.” Apparently?! “If it’s really that important, you should probably ask your parents about it.”

“Um, yeah, I… I’m gonna do that. Thanks.” No way in hell was Niall going to do that. “How come though that it’s my birthplace in my passport?”

“I can’t give you any information on that either, sadly.” She did look sorry when she handed the passport back, but also a bit confused and Niall felt quite the same.

“So basically… I don’t exist.” According to her computer, but Niall didn’t add that even though he should have because it would have surely freaked the nurse out a bit less. She couldn’t know of course that there was a whole lot more to this story and that suddenly, Niall felt a bit dizzy just from how unsure he suddenly was about everything in his life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi guys :) i would LOVE to know if you have any theories on how this might end, there aren't too many chapters left & i hope i can wrap the fic up before the new year!!
> 
> also regarding the topics in this chapter (especially the incest question here), i would like to address it bc i feel like it might upset people, however, i cant do it without a spoiler so just let me tell you this: i am in NO way trying to romanticise incest in this fic & i really would ask you guys to wait for the fic to be finished before judging me for it. i was simply trying to look at it from nialls and liams perspective & no matter what they said in this chapter, it doesn't mean that they would carry on to be in an incest relationship if this turned out to be the case, but the possibility is very small and they dont know the truth after all so therefore they also can't know whether they would decide to carry on dating or not. but i think most of you know how this is going to end anyways, i simply wanted to talk about the fact that they kinda decided they would carry on dating, but this was more said out of fear & love rather than thinking about it rationally.


	15. Chapter 15

_From Liam 12:06 pm  
Where are you?_

 

Niall read the message a fifth time before finally bringing himself to press call next to Liam’s name, his heart still bumping fast even though he had no idea why. It’s not like anything had happened, it’s not like he had gotten confirmation for his biggest nightmare, nothing at all had changed. If anything, Niall should have been relieved and maybe he was, but then again, it only confirmed that something very, very strange was going on. Something he had had no idea about for the past 20 years.

“Are you okay?” Liam sounded kinda panicked as he picked up the phone and the blonde felt terribly guilty for not telling him where he had gone. Or for not calling him until an hour after he had already left the hospital.

“I’m fine… “ The blonde hesitated, he hadn’t planned on what to say to Liam and he really didn’t wanna worry him, so it was probably best to just say it. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you, I… I went to the hospital.”

“Wh-… oh.” The question Liam had been about to ask never came and it took Niall a second to realize that Liam thought that it was bad news, so he made sure to calm his boyfriend down.

“Nothing happened, in fact, I seem to have never been born at all.” Okay, a little dramatic, but then again, why was there no record of Niall being born, in the town printed on his passport?

“What do you mean?” Liam sounded rightfully confused and Niall had to hold back a sigh, he knew that the brunette should have actually been in a lecture right now. But then again, so should have Niall.

“They have no file for me, I was never there, not as a baby or a child… either my mom had me at home and never brought me to any check-ups or… or my parents somehow faked all of my ID’s.” Niall was kinda surprised by how calm he sounded while saying all this, but then again, he had already had an hour to think about it. 

“Are you serious? But… that makes no sense. You think that… that your parents could do something like that? And for what?” Good question, it were the questions Niall had been asking himself for the past 60 minutes now, and luckily nobody had been at home to bother him, so he was actually just sitting in the bathroom on the floor, leaning against the cold tiles in an attempt to keep a clear mind. 

“I don’t know… I’ve been trying to find a logical explanation, but… I can’t come up with anything. I mean, if we were REALLY related… that wouldn’t have been a reason for my mom to just not have me at the hospital and not bring me to any check-ups, right?” Like, yeah, obviously Niall would have been a problem then and his mother obviously hadn’t wanted him, but… why go through all the trouble then? Faking a passport and all that? “They could have just given me up for adoption or something.”

“Don’t say that, babe, I’m sure there is some sort of explanation, I-“

“Which one, Liam? What are we supposed to do? I can’t… “ Niall had to take a breath before being able to continue, he was working himself up now but he just couldn’t help it anymore. “I can’t think about anything else anymore and it’s not even about us maybe being related, it’s just… I’m scared, Li, what if my parents did something really bad? What if they’re criminals and your parents kept you away from us because they know? And because they’re scared they could do something to you?!”

“Niall, hey, don’t be scared, okay? I don’t think your parents are criminals and I don’t think that’s the reason my parents tried to keep me away from your family. If you don’t wanna be home anymore then I can come get you and we just stay at the hotel again, or I could… I could talk to my mom about it.” Liam clearly didn’t wanna do the last part and Niall didn’t wanna run away anymore, they couldn’t keep doing this forever and reality was just hitting him really hard. 

“No, don’t… I’m gonna be fine, I just… nobody’s home, maybe I can find my birth certificate or so.” Maybe Niall should have done that sooner, but he had been terrified of his parents finding out and also, he hadn’t really been home alone the last few days.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea, babe.” Liam sounded really worried, but just for once, Niall ignored him as he got up off the floor, suddenly feeling a bit better now that he sort of had a plan. A really shitty one. “What if they find out?”

“They already hate me, maybe if they find out they will finally tell me the truth.” They never would, something inside of Niall just knew and yet the blonde still walked into his parents’ bedroom because it was the last room upstairs and he needed to somehow start systematically. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you I went to the hospital.”

“It’s fine, baby, don’t worry about it, okay? I get it… I’m a bit relieved.” Liam admitted after some hesitation, but the blonde knew where he was coming from anyways. “Not that you weren’t born there, just… it kinda limits the chances that we… “

“I know, I was relieved as well… I should have called you right away, but… I just couldn’t stop thinking about all this and I wasn’t really looking at the time and I didn’t want you to miss even more classes.” Well, Niall was missing classes every single day now, but his parents were possibly criminals and also, maybe they weren’t even his parents. 

“Yeah, because I always wanna attend them so badly, right?” It was a joke and Niall was actually a bit surprised when they both laughed because they hadn’t really had a lot of fun these past few days. “But seriously, it’s fine. I’m just glad you’re okay, I just didn’t see you and Harry said he hasn’t seen you either, so… “

“I’m sorry for that, I almost went to uni, but then… then I couldn’t get it out of my head. And I still can’t, I just… I want to know.” Niall was going through his parents’ drawers while still on the phone, putting his hand in between their stuff because he honestly didn’t care anymore. How often had they lied to him? Had hurt him physically and mentally? Had invaded his own privacy when he had been younger? Hell, they had even taken money from him without ever asking. 

“You know… there’s something else we could do, like… to have more clarity. Harry suggested it actually, because he’s taking all these biology classes and stuff, um… he said we could get like… a DNA test.” Hearing this caused Niall to stop rummaging through his parents’ things for a moment before slowly continuing, his heart beating a little bit faster at the thought. 

“Would that work though? I mean… we’d only be, like… half siblings.” God, Niall hated saying those words so fucking much, it almost made him shudder.

“Yeah, I don’t really know. I’m gonna google it later and then we can still talk about it… my biggest concern is that anybody might see us or that anybody at the hospital tells my mother and-“

“Hold on.” Fuck, Niall hadn’t even thought about the fact that Liam’s mother knew somebody at the hospital and… “The nurse that told me to leave your room when you were in the hospital… is that the person your mother was talking about when she said she knew somebody who saw you coming in and then told her?”

“I don’t think so, I’ve never seen her before… why? Did she see you today?” Right, now Liam sounded a bit freaked out as well, but Niall was probably only over reacting, right?

“Yeah, um… she recognized me and told me you’d already left and she was the one looking for my files… but even if she does tell your mother about this, maybe she’d realize what’s going on and then she’s gonna tell you whether… “ Whether their lives were basically over or not.

“Maybe… I don’t think so though… Actually, I don’t think we still have to be worried about this whole being related thing, it just seems false the longer I think about it. It just doesn’t fit.” But then again, what did?

“I hope you’re right… I just went through my parents’ whole room and there’s nothing there, I don’t think we even own any documents for anything.” The house was fairly small and they didn’t have a lot of things so Niall had been fairly quick, they didn’t even own a carpet he could have lifted and there was also nothing underneath the mattresses. 

“I would offer to come help you look, but… “ But them getting caught doing this together, they could have left the country for good. “But it was only one room, right? Maybe they’re not even trying to hide it because they think that you’ll never find out.”

Niall kinda agreed with that, but he felt a bit hopeless when he continued the search and Liam hung up the phone after a while because the blonde had convinced him to at least go to his lecture for a few more moments. They agreed on talking again in a bit and Niall kinda hoped that they would get to spend the night together somehow because lately he just felt really lost without Liam. 

There was nothing upstairs, Niall felt like a real idiot checking to see if there were any hidden places behind their furniture and stuff, but he still went downstairs to do the very same there. He did eventually find a drawer in the living room where his parents seemed to be keeping bills and stuff, but it was just boring every-day things and Niall was actually about to give up.

When he came to medical bills, he did look a bit closer, but the only name ever on there was his mother’s and he had known about all her stays in hospitals and at some point more specialized facilities, so it didn’t seem that worth looking into for Niall. He did notice that his mother seemed to have been in hospitals that were further away and stuff, but he had probably been a child back then and hadn’t really noticed it.

Literally, there was nothing with Niall’s name on, except for some dentist bill but he remembered that visit very vividly. Niall went through other drawers as well, just finding letters that were only business related, probably back when his dad had still been working with Liam’s father. The blonde did look at them, but it was all very formal and boring.

Well, that was until he pulled one of the letters out and it turned out to be a bright pink card that read ‘It’s a girl!’ and Niall had never been more confused in his life. There was nothing written inside, so he had no idea who it had been for or why it was in here, whether his parents had received it or intended to send it someone and then had forgotten. Maybe they had received that card from someone who had thought that either Niall or Greg would turn out to be girls and that was why they hated them so much, because they had never wanted boys.

Niall continued searching, now more determined than ever to find something, anything at ALL, and he almost about had a heart attack when he heard a voice behind him. “Niall?”

The blonde turned around in shock, his eyes wide when he saw his _mother_ standing in the doorway, apparently having come home without Niall noticing because he had been so lost in thoughts. “Um, hi.”

“What are you doing?” She sounded confused, watching when the blonde tried to slowly close the drawer without making it too obvious. His mother still wasn’t back to her normal self, if that even existed, but she was able to work again and also very aware of what he was doing.

“Nothing. I was looking for… those school pictures I got, the only ones we ever bought, remember?” Fuck, Niall actually thought he was dead, but then his mother just shrugged before walking past him, opening a drawer the blonde had long searched before pulling the pictures out and handing them to him. And stupid as the blonde was, he of course continued talking. “Oh, thanks… I just need them for something at uni.”

“Okay, well… you can keep them, we shouldn’t have bought them anyways.” Right, because Niall looked like an underfed and beaten child maybe, which he had been at that time and yet somehow his parents had decided to keep exactly those pictures. 

“We’ve got a lot of Greg though.” Niall said it without thinking, he didn’t know where he wanted any of this to go, all he knew was that his parents hated him, whether they were his parents or not, and he didn’t actually know if things could have gotten worse.

“His pictures always turned out better.” A lie, but then again, Niall decided that he didn’t really care, he was actually about to go back upstairs and maybe find out what he had missed at uni the past few days, but then his mother was kinda faster as she walked to the kitchen, all while sounding quite a bit aggressive. “If it bothers you that we had no money for that crap you gotta complain to the Payne’s about it.”

“I don’t think they’d care.” Niall didn’t know wat else to say, but he still slowly followed his mother, watching her getting things out of the fridge while he remained in the doorframe, somehow wanting to ask a billion questions that he had never asked before and on the other hand wanting to leave. 

“They don’t care about anything. Also didn’t care that we had two children that never had anything to eat, did they?” Niall’s mother let out a humorless laugh and the blonde felt a shiver going through his body. This was the only thing that had ever really bothered him about Liam’s parents, the fact that no matter whose fault it had been and no matter what had happened, Niall and Greg had had a pretty shitty life because of it and it was true that no one had ever cared. 

“I don’t know… I don’t know what happened.” The blonde tried to make it sound all innocent, as if this conversation wasn’t making his heart beat really fast. Partly also because he was afraid of his mother to come over and slap him but she seemed very busy making food for herself.

“They’re arrogant rich people who only care about themselves, that’s what happened.” Right, this wasn’t going to get them very far, Niall really didn’t want to waste this opportunity though, especially because his dad wasn’t home. 

“But like… what really happened? I don’t think I even know.” Attempting to sound as careless as possible, Niall quickly shrugged when his mother threw a look at him, hurrying to add something else. “Just because… I see their stuck up son all the time and stuff, I was just thinking about it the other day.”

“I’m sure we told you what happened, they made up lies about us and they went behind our back and it was almost impossible for us to find work afterwards. I was in the hospital for a while and when I came back they kept going on about how I was mentally unstable and stuff like that and anyways, we had a huge fallout and instead of just letting it be, they continued ruining our reputation in the whole town and we couldn’t move away because we had no money left.” Right, Niall was sure he had heard that story, but not really the mentally unstable part and like… it was true, his mother had been admitted to several places because of her mental health, but it still seemed odd to the blonde that this would have been a reason for the fight. Also because hadn’t it only been his and Liam’s dad running the business anyways? “We tried to reach out years after that, multiple times, but they were never interested in a simple conversation.”

“But they were your best friends, right? Why would they do that?” What got Niall a little bit worried but also really confused was the fact that this kinda tied in with how Liam’s mother had been acting, as if Niall’s parents were somehow dangerous. 

“Niall, seriously, what kinda questions are that? Because they’re bastards, that’s why, and they think people with mental issues aren’t capable of living normal lives. And apparently they also think that it’s more important to make even more money while there are two kids starving.” She sounded really bitter while cutting vegetables and Niall was actually scared about getting her even more worked up because he didn’t wanna be the one to blame if she hurt herself.

“I thought… I thought that all happened before I was born.” He couldn’t help but ask that question, a little bit also because now he was genuinely confused.

“It did. I think. It was so long ago, I don’t remember the exact date and year it happened.” Now she was making it sound as if it wasn’t important anymore and Niall was just really confused, already having his mouth open to ask yet another question, but she cut him off before he could have even spoken up. “Don’t you have to study or something? I’ve had enough small talk today at work.”

“Right, uh, sorry.” The blonde made sure to leave quickly after that, even more confused than before as he went into his room. If his mother couldn’t even remember what year this had all happened in… how reliable was anything that she had just said?

Then again, Niall felt like the possibility of him and Liam being half brothers was pretty inexistent after listening to his mother talk. None of what she had said tied in with Liam’s theory, and she was clearly only mad at Liam’s parents and not at Niall’s dad. If he even WAS Niall’s dad, but then again… why would Niall believe Liam’s mother? How was he supposed to know who the bad guy was in this story?

 

\----------------------

 

“Liam, we need to talk.” Liam had barely entered the house from the garage when his mother was already standing there with a pretty stern look on her face and the brunette didn’t quite know what to expect. 

“Okay… about what?” He was absently petting Watson, who was the only one really excited about seeing him apparently. It had been kind of a shitty day and the brunette had been looking forward to just getting to his bedroom and asking Niall whether they could talk some more. He hadn’t seen the blonde all day because Niall had taken matters into his own hands and had gone to the hospital and… Liam felt like there was a lot they needed to talk about. But Niall would have told him if he had found anything in his house, right?

“About you still seeing that Horan boy and the fact that he goes around the hospital asking for his birth certificate.” Shit.

“What about it?” Liam’s heart was bumping so fast now and he wanted to slap himself in the face because fuck, had it really been that one nurse? And it’s not like Niall was to blame for this because had he asked Liam, the brunette would have come along instead of trying to talk him out of it. 

“You told him about his father? Liam, I told you-“

“I’m not keeping secrets from him and he didn’t ask his parents about it.” Hopefully, suddenly Liam was getting a bit nervous because… Niall hadn’t told him he was doing this, what else had he possibly done today that the brunette didn’t know?

“Yet. He will eventually want to know the truth, Liam, he’s going to ask his parents, maybe not today or tomorrow, but he’s going to, I can promise you that. I can’t believe you did this.” Liam rolled his eyes as he walked past his mother while she was dramatically shaking her head. “Did you really think he was going to simply get his birth certificate at the hospital?”

“I don’t know, I’ve never been in that situation. And anyways, he wasn’t born here, he’s never been admitted to the hospital, not even for check-ups. But you probably already knew that.” The brunette was really worked up now, but he still got himself something to drink just to have something to do, continuing to pet his dog while leaning against the counter in an attempt to calm himself down. “Either tell me the truth or stop being mad at me for wanting to find out.”

“You don’t tell me what to do Liam, I can’t believe you anymore.” She sounded really shocked and maybe Liam was as well, but he was really at a point where he didn’t care anymore what he said, everything was just a lie.

“I’m sorry, but what am I supposed to do? I’m not going to break up with Niall, I told you.” About a billion times already and the more often he said it, the more he was convinced that he wouldn’t ever, no matter how this ended. “And I don’t even know why you want us to break up so badly, he has nothing to do with this and his parents won’t find out.”

“You also thought I wouldn’t find out, didn’t you? Liam, listen to me, as long as Niall lives at home and sees his parents, you shouldn’t be with him and if I tell you why then I know you will run off the second I turn around to tell him and then you might as well drive over there right now and introduce yourself.” Somehow, this made Liam shut up, because one, his mother actually sounded worried and a bit desperate but more importantly two, she was implying that they could have dated if Niall hadn’t lived at home anymore. So that basically ruled out the idea of them being half brothers, didn’t it?

“But why? What did they do? Did they kill somebody? Do they have corpses in their basement?” This was ridiculous, Liam was saying the wildest things he could think of, but he hadn’t really expected his mother to hesitate after he had said it. What? “They don’t… right?”

“They might have for all I know. I don’t know what _really_ happened when-“

“Wait, what? You don’t even know yourself?” What the fuck? Was this all a joke or something? “You don’t know why you fell out with them?”

“No, I do, and your father and I agree that it was the right decision and we both know that _something_ happened in which we didn’t want to have a part in, but we don’t know how it went down and they kept denying it anyways. Well… Bobby did… Maura barely ever said anything, she was always in hospital at that time, I’m not sure if she fully knew what was going on or if she even remembers, she’s in a bad place, mentally speaking.” This was the first time Liam had heard that and somehow he wondered whether it was a lie or whether Niall simply hadn’t wanted to talk about it. Or maybe she was better now? “Anyways… I don’t know what else to tell you, you’re playing with fire, Liam, and you will get all of us in trouble, including your boyfriend.”

“We already are in trouble.“ Ever since they had started talking, ever since Liam had made the decision to ask the blonde to borrow his phone. Then again, Liam’s mother didn’t seem mad at all, simply worried, and maybe that was why Liam just asked without thinking. “If I tell dad about Niall… can he stay the night?”

“Liam?! No, he can’t, he can’t come into this house, no matter how many times he’s already been here without me knowing, I won’t encourage this.” But she also wasn’t doing anything to stop it, not really, and maybe Liam had never before realized how much his mother actually cared about him.

“He’s scared though, because he doesn’t know if his parents-“

“He’s not going to say with us, Liam, not for one night and not for even longer than that. If they find out I let him stay with us… he would have to be even more scared, trust me. And if you don’t intend to break up with him then _please_ be smarter about this, go to that hotel you went to or stay in places where nobody can see you, I really don’t want you to get involved into any of this, but seeing as you already have, you might as well try to be a bit more subtle about it.” Was his mother seriously giving him tips now about how to sneak around with Niall?

“How would they even find out that he was here and that you approved?” Now that his mother had shown a slight weakness, Liam had immediately sensed his chance to maybe get her to possibly even like Niall, which could have only been beneficial for them, right? 

“I don’t know, I just don’t wanna encourage you to keep on seeing him.” She was getting frustrated and yet not angry, which was kinda new but Liam was definitely not going to complain. “I’m sure he’s a nice boy and all-“

“He is.” Liam agreed, kinda interrupting his mother but she just sighed instead before getting herself something to drink as well. Right, this conversation was definitely a success so far, despite his mother having found out about Niall going to the hospital. She had basically confirmed that they weren’t related, so what else could Liam have wanted? “I’m sure you’d like him.”

“Don’t try to make this situation better than it is, Liam. Just because I gave up on trying to get you to break up with him does not mean I want to meet him.” Then again, she didn’t really sound like she would actually NEVER agree to meet Niall properly.

“You already met h-“

“This is enough now. Just… be smart, okay? And if you sneak him into the house, please don’t tell me about it and just… don’t let him leave his shoes by the door. Also, you really need to talk to your father.” With that, his mother called out to Watson before leaving the room and Liam still had a ton of things to say, but he held back because he definitely felt a lot better now texting Niall to see if he had time to talk on the phone.

 

\---------

 

“Okay, I love you too, bye.” Niall tried not to be jealous, but he kinda was as soon as he had hung up the phone after talking to Liam. They had kinda exchanged their conversations with their mothers, which ironically seemed to have happened at the same time out of coincidence, and Niall was more than relieved to be able to kinda push the question of them being related into the back of his mind. Still, he did kinda wonder why he had to have the parents that were lying to him and apparently weren’t even his parents and who would have killed him had they found out about Liam.

The reason why they hung up the phone was because they both needed to study and though Liam had suggested that they could go and stay at the hotel again, Niall had declined. They couldn’t just make a habit out of this, could they? And skip all of their classes? Niall would have LOVED to spend the night with Liam, but maybe they’d find a way somehow that didn’t involve Liam having to climb up a tree with his hurt wrist.

Niall tried to actually study for once now that he was able to concentrate a little better again after Liam’s mother had basically confirmed that they weren’t related, but it still worked for maybe only two hours or so before the blonde found himself getting bored and kind of lost in thoughts. Apparently, Liam was doing a lot better because he hadn’t texted back in quite a while. Neither had Louis, who had been begging the blonde to help him with his homework and Niall had never received an answer after having done it.

Because he was getting hungry, Niall decided to go back downstairs, already regretting it a little bit though once he realized that his dad had come home in the meantime. There was no yelling though, so maybe the blonde was lucky and he’d get to quickly make some food and disappear back into his room before anybody talked to him. Turned out though, it didn’t go very much like Niall had had in mind.

His dad didn’t say anything when Niall walked past the living room, but about two minutes after the blonde had started making a sandwich, he flinched quite terribly as he heard his father’s voice from the doorframe. “I hear you had some question earlier.”

“Um, what?” Niall decided to play dumb, it wasn’t a good idea to admit to his father that he had been asking stuff about Liam’s family and he had no idea why his mother had decided to mention it to him. What was the point, it had already been hours ago and they hadn’t even come to a conclusion or anything.

“Don’t play stupid like always, Niall, I’m not your mother. What are you gonna do with those school pictures?” Fuck.

“I, uh, I need them for uni.” Niall’s mind was literally running wild trying to come up with an excuse while at the same time trying to be calm on the outside and continue making food. He should have never left his room, but then again, his father would have maybe come to him anyways, seeing as he seemed to be so suspicious about all of this. 

“Really? Why?” He wasn’t going to believe Niall, no matter what the blonde said, but he needed to try anyways.

“The professor didn’t really say, but it’s like to see how much we changed and how much our life has changed, it’s kind of a, um, motivational thing.” Or not, in Niall’s case. “Am I not allowed to take those pictures?”

“Of course you are, no one else wants them. I was just wondering whether you were actually looking for them or why you would feel an urge to go through all our things.” Shit, had he noticed anything else besides what Niall’s mother had seen? 

“I’m sorry, I just wanted the pictures and I didn’t know when you guys would be home and-“

“So that’s why you were so surprised to see your mother? Because you weren’t expecting anybody to come home so early, huh?” True. He was too good at this, at least he could only see the side of Niall’s face because the blonde refused to look up. “Do you wanna know what I think?”

“Um, okay?” Niall tried to sound confused, but reality was, he was genuinely getting afraid all of a sudden. His phone was in the back pocket of his pants, however, how would Niall have reached it without his father noticing? And who would he have called anyways in case this turned ugly?

“I think you’ve been snooping around the whole house while no one was home and you didn’t randomly ask your mother about those bastards, you were actually _doubting_ whether they really are that bad, weren’t you?” He had pretty much hit the nail on the head and to say that Niall wanted to die right now was a bit of an understatement. 

“No, why would I-“

“ _Don’t_ lie to me.” His voice was still quiet, but firm and Niall assumed it was so his mother wouldn’t hear, but it still caused shivers to run down his spine as he slowly turned around to face his father, trying to put up the most serious face he could manage.

“Dad, I didn’t doubt anything, I swear. Mom was the one who brought them up.” At least the second part of this was true. “I just realized no one ever told me what really happened, I was just curious, I’m sorry.”

“Lies.” The fact that there was a small smile playing around his father’s lips got Niall so nervous he wanted to puke. Instead, he tried to take a small step back, not quite sure if he had ever been this afraid in his entire life. “You just lie and lie and you think nobody notices? You think I don’t know that Tomlinson fag is still fucking another guy? You think I don’t know you’re friends with whoever the fuck he’s screwing? And you’re not even trying to hide it, are you? I was giving you so many chances, Niall, so many goddamn chances to prove yourself to me and yet… and yet you decided to let those friends of yours tear you down with them.”

“I-I… what do you m-“

“Going on holiday with Tomlinson? Do you think I’m _stupid_?! I was giving you the benefit of the doubt when you told us, but either you’re also fucking him now or you lied yet again about where you were. You know, it’s really making me question your sudden interest in the Payne family as well, especially since you randomly seem to disappear for days now, overnight, not showing up to university anymore… do you think Greg is blind? Are you really as stupid as you seem to be?” Fuck, fuck, fuck-

“I w-was at uni, Greg probably didn’t see m-me a-“

“Do you wanna know what happened then, Niall? Do you really wanna know why we have no money and why I hate this family so much? The _real_ version? Not the one your mother probably told you because she believes it’s not right to tell you?” Wait, what? Why was his father so amused all of a sudden?!

“I, uh… “ Niall never answered, his words got caught in his throat and he didn’t know anymore what to say or what to do, he just wanted to get out of here and yet he couldn’t.

“It’s your fault, Niall. You drove your mother mad and you almost killed her on top of that. She was away for months when she was pregnant with you and after you were born, she was barely alive. And that bastard Payne told me I couldn’t stay away from the company for so long, not even if my wife would die in the meantime. So I decided to leave and he decided to sue us for everything we’ve got. All because of you.” The way he said it really made Niall feel guilty, and he wanted to cry, but he told himself there was no time to do that, now that his father was finally talking.

“I don’t believe you.” Why would he? This didn’t match up with Liam’s mother’s story, not at all. 

“No? Because you think the Payne’s are actually good people and just because you don’t like me you wanna believe I’m the bad guy? It’s the truth, Niall, there’s nothing else to it. If you hadn’t been born, none of this would have happened.” Sometimes, Niall genuinely wished he wouldn’t have been born. 

“Are you even my father?” Niall couldn’t help it, he blurted out with that question before it was too late, looking his father dead in the eyes to notice any changes in expression, but there was only a small moment of silence.

“I wish I wasn’t.” He said it so firmly and honestly that it almost felt like a kick to Niall’s stomach though he had known all along anyways. “Show me your phone.”

“Why?” Automatically, Niall’s hand had flown to his back pocket, gripping a tight hold on his phone as he took a step backwards, immediately realizing his mistake.

“It’s a new rule, since you’re lying so much, I’m gonna need to see who you talk to and about what. Give it to me.” He came closer, slowly, with an outstretched hand and Niall backed away even further, heart hammering in his chest. If he did this, he was dead, his father didn’t yet know about Liam and it was already bad now, but it’d surely get worse if he found out.

“No.” Niall couldn’t do it, he was making himself look suspicious as hell, but he couldn’t do it, no way in hell.

“So there is something, isn’t there? Dirty messages with that Tomlinson boy? Or maybe even to the Payne’s themselves?” Niall would have called his father paranoid, but matter of the fact was that he was being correct about the last part and the blonde wouldn’t be able to deny it any further once his father had seen his phone. “I said give it to me, or I will take it from you and you’re not getting it back.”

He was coming closer and Niall knew he would have stood no chance and that he couldn’t allow this to happen, especially because it would have affected Liam as well, and what if his father decided to text from it?! There was a second where the blonde hesitated before simply throwing his phone on the floor as hard as he could somehow manage, screen first, and it made such a loud noise that his father stopped for a moment, surprised about what Niall had done.

The blonde didn’t waste any time though, he picked the smashed phone up again, throwing it into the sink and turning on the water before his father had been able to react, just to be sure it was completely broken. For a moment or two, Niall felt relieved, didn’t pay as much attention as he should have and the slap across his face made him stumble.

“Get the fuck out of this house. You have 20 minutes to get your shit, I don’t care where you go, I just hope you know you brought this upon yourself. Leave.” There was no yelling, no nothing, which maybe made things even worse and scarier and Niall didn’t dare say one single word.

His cheek was burning like hell as he reached for his phone that was still in the sink, just in case, and his father let him, probably because there was no way this phone would ever work again. Niall had no time to cry or to really let any of this sink in, he just hurried to his room, barely able to think as he began stuffing things into his bag, his backpack luckily still filled with uni stuff.

The blonde had no idea what to do or what to bring, but he remembered last second to get Liam’s letter and the note he had written him what seemed like years ago from under his pillow before leaving his room. Niall had no idea if his mother had realized what was going on, she wasn’t there when he walked downstairs where his father was waiting by the door, looking oddly collected and calm.

“Your key.” Niall had suspected this but he still panicked a little handing it to his father, because what if he had forgotten something? Not like he had that many things, but still. 

“What about mu-“

“Don’t worry, I’m going to tell her you decided you didn’t wanna live here anymore after shitting on everything we ever did for you because you believe that the people who destroyed all of our futures are innocent.” So he was not going to tell her the truth, but then again, did it really matter anymore?

“I never said-“

“Here’s an advice, Niall, don’t test me. I know you think I’m wrong, I know you think you deserve better, but the truth is… you don’t deserve anything. And if you think I’m bad, just remember I’m not the reason things are the way they are.” He looked ready to slap Niall again, so the blonde put on his shoes and left through the front door without another word, still not having internalized what had happened.

His phone was completely broken, Niall only now realized that he had cut his fingers bleeding on the shattered screen, but it didn’t matter. He just walked down the street, not knowing where to go or what to think or what he was supposed to do now. Everything he owned was in two bags and literally speaking, he was also homeless now despite the fact that he had paid at least 2/3rds of the bills. At least his parents had no access to his bank account, that was the only relief Niall felt for a moment.

Actually, he had no idea why this had happened, his father had always been impulsive and angry, but it had escalated so quickly and there had been no specific reason. So he had known all along that Niall was friends with Harry and that he was still with Louis and yet he hadn’t said anything. Was this because he was afraid of the possibility of Niall talking to the Paynes? But why would he have thrown him out then and risked the blonde going straight to their house?

A part in Niall didn’t want to believe anything his father had said, about Niall being the reason for all of this, but then again… what if it was true? It didn’t mean that Liam’s parents were better or nicer than Niall’s just because his mother hadn’t killed them both after finding out about their relationship, maybe she was just a lot better at playing this game than Niall’s father.

The blonde couldn’t call anybody, he also couldn’t go to Liam’s house even though he desperately wanted to and he didn’t even know if Louis was home and in all honesty, Niall would have kinda been embarrassed showing up to either of their houses. Fact was, however, he didn’t have a lot of money and he had nowhere to go and it was kinda really cold and reality kinda hit the blonde after he had been walking for about 20 minutes without a real goal.

How fucked up could his life actually get?

Niall’s whole face was aching from his father hitting him and the tears dripping down his cheeks didn’t actually make things better but even worse because now his skin felt even colder than before, but he simply couldn’t stop crying. After realizing that there was actually no point in walking, Niall decided to sit down on the first bench he saw, trying to calm himself down a little bit.

This was a small town and yet he barely knew anybody personally and though Niall had always felt rejected from his family, he had still never felt more alone than in this very moment. He had a boyfriend, who he loved with all his heart and yet he couldn’t even go to his house after having been kicked out of his own, and he had a best friend whose parents had 7 children and who he couldn’t have bothered by begging them to let him stay.

So instead, Niall just didn’t do anything, he just sat there and waited until he had stopped crying and felt so cold that he had to breathe on his fingers. The thing was, he could have probably sat here all night and Liam and Louis would have just thought that his phone had run out of charge and that he had fallen asleep, it had happened before. And in all honesty, could Niall have really been upset about that? How was anybody supposed to come to the conclusion that the blonde had been thrown out?

Of course Niall could have just shown up to either of their houses, but it would have gotten Liam into trouble and going to Louis’ house would have only made Niall feel even shittier than he already felt. Then again, he needed some kind of plan because he couldn’t just sit there forever, even if it felt like the best solution right now. Never before had Niall felt so fucking hopeless. 

It had probably been hours, but Niall wouldn’t have known because he had no clock and his phone was broken beyond repair and there had been many cars that had gone by, but none of them had ever stopped. Except this one.

Honestly, Niall thought about simply ignoring it because it was about to get dark, but then he looked a bit closer and he didn’t actually feel relieved like he probably should have in a situation like that. It was Harry’s car, but it was his mom driving and the blonde didn’t really know how to react when she rolled down the window. 

“Niall, love, what are you doing here?” The fact that she had recognized him would have maybe been weird had Niall not spent a few hours at her house already, even though not lately. She sounded worried, probably because Niall gave a pretty pitiful sight.

“I, um… “ Niall didn’t know what to say, he honestly had no idea, because… should he have just said the truth? Maybe she could borrow Niall her phone so he could call Louis and… say whatever, because Niall had no idea what he would have said. “My parents, uh… we kinda had a fight and… my dad kinda threw me out but, like, it’s fine, I-“

“Wait, wait, your parents threw you out?!” Right, maybe this actually sounded a lot worse and also more surprising to people outside Niall’s family, but how else would he have said it? How else would he have explained his situation? “What happened? How long ago was that?”

“Uh… “ The blonde started, really wanting to explain, but then he kinda felt tears building up in his eyes like a baby and then Harry’s mother had already turned off the engine and gotten out of the car because Niall’s reaction had probably been enough. 

“Do you want me to maybe come with you to talk to your parents?” If she had done that, it would have only made things worse so Niall made sure to quickly shake as head as she sat down next to him. It was already kinda dark, so at least she couldn’t see the bruise that was undoubtedly forming on his face. 

“Um… it’d just make things worse. But thank you.” Niall made sure to wipe his face a little, wishing that everything could have been resolved with one conversation. He couldn’t have told her what had really happened, he knew that she knew about the thing with Liam and their families, but he couldn’t have told her the reason that all of this had happened because Louis was dating her son. 

“Okay. Did you call anybody? Liam or Louis?” Somehow, this made Niall wanna laugh, not out of amusement but because this situation was just so fucking ridiculous.

“I, uh… my phone is kind of broken, so… “ So Niall had thought he would just sit on this bench for a few hours. 

“So you have nowhere to stay?” Honestly, Harry’s mother seemed to get more worried by the second, probably also because of Niall acting so detached from this whole problem as if it wasn’t his own. There wasn’t really an answer required to that question because it was obvious anyways and before Niall could have spoken up, Harry’s mother seemed to already have made a decision. “Come on, I was just about to drive home and make dinner, Harry’s at home studying and you’re welcome to stay with us for however long you need and if you want to, we can talk about it after we’ve gotten inside because it’s really freezing out here.”

She was trying to make it sound normal and as if everything was fine, Niall could tell, it was as if she was trying to coax a scared child into opening up and maybe he appreciated it a little bit because all he had to do was nod a bit and thank her before she had already grabbed his bag. This was wrong, but what else was Niall supposed to do?

It was obvious that she was eying the bruise on Niall’s face after they had gotten into the car, but the blonde didn’t even care, he was just so happy to finally be warm again that he didn’t even feel embarrassed for a moment. Instead, he felt all the exhaustion kicking in and also the shock and with it the realization that nothing would ever be the way it had been.

 

\----------------------

 

“Harry, can you come downstairs please?” As if it wasn’t already awkward enough for Niall to walk into the house with pretty much all his things, Harry’s mother immediately called out for her son to come join them. Probably because she had no idea what to do either. 

It only took about half a minute for Harry to appear on the stairs, looking cheerful, but his expression changed rather quickly once he saw Niall, not to being annoyed but simply to confusion. Understandable. “Niall, hi, what’s… going on?”

“Um… -“

“He’s gonna stay with us for a bit.” Harry’s mother made it sound really normal, but of course, Harry wasn’t going to just take that as an explanation but Niall thought it was really nice that he immediately came downstairs all the way to give the blonde a hug.

“What happened?” This time he was asking Niall directly so the blonde gulped, looking away from his friend’s face and wishing nothing more right now than having gone to Liam’s house after all.

“My dad, uh… he threw me out and… my phone is broken.” The short version of everything that had happened, but it was enough to cause Harry’s eyes to go wide, probably because he knew about everything that had been going on.

“Did he find out?” Well, his dad surely had found out about _something_.

“He got, uh… suspicious and I asked some questions and he… he doesn’t like that I’m friends with you and Louis and… it was just… everything. I don’t know even know what the real reason was and… I don’t what to do.” Niall added the last part without thinking and mostly because he felt like it was more okay to admit this to Harry than to Harry’s mother. He also felt really guilty though, because now Harry and his mother couldn’t even eat dinner in time because of Niall.

“Do you want to call Liam? He can come here, right, mum?” Harry had now gone over to rubbing Niall’s back over his jacket that he still hadn’t taken off and it was a nice gesture but it also made Niall feel like a child.

“Of course, love. You boys can talk and I’ll get dinner started, alright? If you need anything, Niall, don’t hesitate to speak up, alright?” She gave the blonde a smile which Niall could barely return because of how awkward he felt. He just wanted Liam to come and nothing else.

“Okay, c’mon, let’s call him.” Harry led Niall to the living room, having instructed him to just leave his bags by the door and at least Niall remembered to take off his shoes before following the younger boy to sit on the couch. “Why didn’t you go to Louis’ house?”

“I don’t know… he’s got a ton of siblings and I’m not even sure if he’s home and… your mom saw me while driving past and… is it really okay that I’m here? I don’t wanna-“

“Niall, please, it’s fine, why would it not be okay?” Harry sounded genuinely confused by that question and Niall relaxed a little bit when the other boy handed him his phone, already having looked for Liam’s number and Niall had maybe never felt so relieved in his entire life.

“Thanks… “ Taking the phone from Harry, they probably both noticed that Niall’s fingers were shaking a little bit, but he was able to press call obviously and to hold the phone to his ear, wanting nothing more in this world right now than to hear Liam’s voice.

It seemed to take ages until Liam picked up the phone and Niall briefly noticed in the back of his head that Liam never took this long to answer whenever Niall called him. “Hi, Haz, what’s up?”

“Um… it’s me. Niall.” Maybe it was unnecessary to say his name, but Niall did it anyways, trying to breathe more normally again now that he felt a bit calmer upon hearing Liam’s voice. Liam would know what to do, he always did.

“Hi, babe, are you okay? I tried calling you before but your phone is turned off.” He sounded worried and he probably thought that Niall would have rather hung out with Harry than with him and that he couldn’t even text back.

“Yeah, uh… it’s a bit broken. Can you maybe come to Harry’s house?” Niall didn’t know whether he should have explained over the phone, but then he just blurted out with it anyways. “My dad… he threw me out.”

“ _What?!_ What happened?! Did he find out about us?!” Okay, Niall should have definitely not said that over the phone, but it was too late now anyways and he would have had to tell Liam had some point, right?

“No, he didn’t, but… he got real suspicious, because of the conversation I had with my mom and we had a fight and he… he told me, um, some stuff. About what happened with our families.” This also made Harry listen up because the blonde hadn’t mentioned it to him before.

“What did he tell you? I’m on my way, okay? I’ll be there as soon as I can.” He was moving around, Niall could hear it in the background and it felt like a weight had been lifted off of him. 

“I better, um… I better tell you that once you’re here… “ Not that Niall wanted Liam to drive so fast that he would bring himself into danger, but he really wanted him to be here as quickly as somehow possible. No idea how Niall had managed to just sit on that bench for so long. 

“Okay. Baby, everything’s gonna be okay, yeah? I promise, I’m gonna be here in a few minutes and I’m never gonna leave you alone, we’re going to figure it out, okay? I love you.” Liam said it as if he had known it was exactly what the blonde had been wanting to hear and Niall felt tears building up in his eyes once more.

“Okay… I love you too.” They did hang up the phone when Liam got into his car and Niall handed the phone back while wiping his face a bit with his free hand, feeling better but at the same time a lot more emotional. “Thank you.”

“No problem, Niall… “ Harry sounded thoughtful but Niall didn’t really notice because he was more busy attempting not to cry. “Did, uh, did your dad… do that?”

It took a second for Niall to realize Harry meant the bruise on his face and he felt himself getting blushed but he still nodded anyways, slowly. Of course Niall knew that this wasn’t his own fault, but he still felt a bit embarrassed for this whole situation that he was in. He was 20 years old and he would have probably slept on that bench tonight if Harry’s mother hadn’t driven past.

“Do you think you could talk to him in a few days or something? Like, do you think that it could be, I don’t know, solved somehow?” Well, obviously Harry didn’t know Niall’s dad or he wouldn’t have asked this question.

“I don’t know… he took my key and everything… I’m… I don’t know if… if talking to him would be a good idea.” Also, Niall was scared shitless, but he didn’t say that.

“Okay. Don’t worry, you can stay here as long as you need, I’m sure my mom told you the same. It’s really okay, it’s just us here anyways, yeah? And Liam’s gonna be here in a bit and I’m sure there has to be something we can do.” Or maybe not, but Niall really appreciated the effort. “Do you want something to drink or so?”

They had to wait 10 minutes until Liam got there, seemingly really freaked out as soon as Harry opened the door for him, but Niall barely had any time to look at his boyfriend because Liam had already swooped him up into his arms a second later. “Hi, sorry I took so long… “

“It’s okay, you were really fast… “ He really had been and Niall held on tighter as he pressed his face into the older boy’s neck, just wanting him to hold him and never let go. 

“Everything’s gonna be okay, baby, I’m here.” Liam was rocking them a bit and it was so comforting that Niall couldn’t help but sniff a bit as more tears started to run down his cheek, wetting Liam’s shirt. “Hey, hey, it’s okay, Nialler, I promise. We will figure it out, yeah? Look at me.”

The last thing Niall wanted was to let go right now, but at least Liam kissed his lips and then his forehead, cupping the younger’s face in his hand and catching a few tears with his thumb.

“We-… did he do that to you?” Shit, the bruise on Niall’s face must have been really obvious, Liam’s eyes had immediately gone wide and then he clearly got angry without Niall even having been able to answer. “I’m going to kill him.”

“No, Li, don’t, it’s just… it’s just a-“

“He hurt you. He’s not allowed to fucking touch you or to treat you this way and I don’t care anymore what happened between him and my dad, I’m gonna make sure he’ll regret doing this to you.” For a moment, Niall was a bit worried about Liam, but it also made him slightly proud. “Does it hurt? Did he do anything else?”

“No, um… he didn’t. And it’s okay.” Well, Niall had cut his fingers bleeding on his phone, but that had definitely been his own fault.

“It’s not okay, Niall, none of this is… what happened?” Liam went back to hugging the blonde, running his fingers through his hair and rubbing his back and Niall just made sure to hold on tightly for now because he was sure he would get Liam even more upset in a second.

Seeing as no one had heard the whole story yet, all three of them went to sit on the couch and Harry’s mother joined as well, but Niall didn’t care who was listening, he stayed glued to Liam’s side, holding his hand while he told them what had happened. It was harder than Niall would have thought, especially the part where he repeated what his dad had told him, about Niall being the reason all of this had happened, and Liam almost interrupted quite noticeably at this point, but then he held back, allowing the younger boy to finish. 

“Niall, he’s lying, you know that, right? He got scared when he realized you were starting to ask questions, he’s scared of you finding out the truth.” Liam almost said it immediately as soon as Niall had stopped talking and the blonde really wanted to believe him, but how would Liam have known? 

“Then why did he throw me out? If there really was something, he’d risk me finding out by making me leave and it sounded like he knows that we know each other, so there’s a possibility we will talk about it.” Why else would he have wanted Niall’s phone?

Liam stayed quiet for a moment and no one else really dared to say anything, probably because he looked rather close to leaving this house to go and start a fight with Niall’s dad. Instead though, he surprised Niall even more. “Come home with me and we’ll talk to my parents, they will have to tell us the truth after all this and then after that you can stay with me, I’ll talk to my mom and I know she’s gonna say yes when she hears what happened. I want you with me and make sure you’re safe and I want to finally know what happened because all this secret keeping is just making things worse.” 

Really, what was there for Niall to say after this except for agreeing?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey guys! sorry this is over an hour late, i was really busy today just to come home and realize i didnt even edit the chapter yet!
> 
> i hope you all enjoyed it and are excited to find out what REALLY happened ;)


	16. Chapter 16

“But… I can’t just show up to your house.“ That was really the only part Niall was worried about though he was really happy somehow that Liam seemed to be so eager to keep Niall with him that he was ready to introduce him to his parents. “And your parents would never let me stay.”

“If I talk to them then maybe they would. If they don’t we’ll go somewhere else, I won’t leave you alone, baby.” Liam sounded more than serious and for a moment, Niall kinda forgot that Harry and his mother were still sitting there as well. 

“He can also stay here though, just in case something happens.” Harry said it slowly, as if he was afraid Liam would get angry or something and it was definitely true that the brunette sounded very worked up, even more than Niall at this point. The blonde was honestly just so relieved that Liam was here and apparently ready to fight anybody who said something wrong. 

“And if you need anything at all, both of you, don’t hesitate to ask, alright? I don’t know what happened in detail and I don’t know your parents, but if there’s anything I can do… “ Harry’s mother had been listening with a kinda worried expression but she offered Niall a smile when he thanked her, kinda hoping though that they wouldn’t need to ask her for help. Then again, Niall wasn’t sure if anybody could have really helped them. “Does anybody still want dinner before it gets cold?”

So they all ate together, even though it felt a bit awkward for the first few minutes, but then Harry started talking about something and Niall managed to relax, feeling a whole lot better now that he was sitting here with Liam next to him and something like a plan ahead of them. A plan that was making Niall feel a little bit sick to his stomach, but Liam sounded confident, so what was he supposed to say? It’s not like they had a lot of choices.

“Are you okay?” Liam asked as soon as he had closed the car door behind himself and Niall was just sitting in the passenger seat, playing with the sleeves of his jacket, almost flinching a bit when Liam unexpectedly touched his arm. “We don’t have to do this if you feel uncomfortable.”

“But… we don’t really have a choice, do we? And maybe… maybe they will tell us what’s going on now… now that my dad has already freaked out anyways.” What more could he have done, honestly? Nothing to Niall at least seeing as the blonde wasn’t ever going to go back home anymore with things being that way. “I just… I don’t want you to get in trouble with your parents as well, if-“

“Ni, we’re in this together and my mom already knows anyways. I haven’t told my dad, but… now that I know my mom is kinda okay with it, I don’t think he’s going to be too mad. And there’s really no reason why they would not allow you to say.” Well, except that there were about a million reasons why, but also… there was something else.

“Um… Liam?” Niall hadn’t said it before, not in front of everyone else, but he kinda felt like he needed to speak up about it now, about the thing in the back of his head that popped up whenever he thought about Liam’s parents. 

“What’s wrong, love?” Liam sounded worried, stroking the younger’s cheek with the back of his fingers and brushing some hair out of his face but Niall refused to look at him. He really didn’t want to make Liam upset with what he was about to say, but… he kinda had to now.

“You know, when… when I was fighting with my dad, I kinda… I asked him, if he was my dad and… I know I shouldn’t have, but it slipped out and he said that… you know he just said that he wished he wasn’t my father. And I… now I don’t know what to think and I don’t know who is right and… “ And maybe it were Liam’s parents who were lying after all.

Liam stayed quiet for a moment and Niall thought that he had really pissed him off now or something with what he was implying here, but it seemed to be the complete opposite. “I don’t know who is right either and yeah, maybe my mom lied to me and maybe it’s my parents’ fault after all, I mean… I never believed that they were completely innocent, they never thought about you or your brother in all of this and… I just really think that maybe my parents would at least tell us more after everything that has happened today. And I kinda feel like they would agree to let you stay with me, especially because they know I’d just go and stay at a hotel with you.” 

“You really think so?” Niall didn’t wanna get his hopes up and he really had to rely on Liam here because he didn’t know his parents after all, he had only seen his mother once at the hospital in the worst scenario possible. 

“I do. I don’t wanna make any false promises, but… all I know is that no matter what happens, we got each other, right? No one can change that.” Just because Liam was so sweet, Niall finally turned his head, being surprised by a kiss on the lips that left him wanting more. Despite everything, he had missed being physical with Liam during the past few days and he couldn’t help wanting to just sit here in the car with Liam instead of driving anywhere at all. “I love you, so much.”

“I love you too, Li…” Niall had no idea what he would have done without Liam, like, none of this would have happened if they hadn’t fallen in love, but then again, if it hadn’t happened, Niall would have really missed Liam in his life and he might have never known what it’d feel like to be this crazy about somebody and also… they might have both continued living a lie their parents had told them. 

It was slightly inappropriate maybe, to be snogging in the car right in front of Harry’s house, but then again, it’s not like they were in a rush or something, right? Plus, kissing Liam was calming Niall down, it was familiar and there was nothing else in the world he would have rather been doing, right now and maybe ever, but especially after everything that had happened today. 

Who knew, maybe Liam was right, maybe they’d go to bed tonight finally not having to worry anymore about what was actually going on and about who was or wasn’t lying to them. Then again, how could they have ever been sure?

 

\----------

 

“Don’t be nervous, it’s gonna be okay, I’m here.” Though Liam was trying to calm Niall down as he drove into the garage, he felt his own heart beating quite fast. He knew his parents wouldn’t like, do anything, but there was a great possibility that they might not actually allow Niall to stay with them or even tell them one single word. But what was the point of still keeping it a secret now?

“I’m not nervous, just… worried.” Niall had been biting his nails the whole way here and Liam couldn’t have stopped him because he needed both hands to drive now that his wrist was bruised. He felt so bad for the blonde though and he hated seeing that bruise on his face whenever he looked at him, knowing that his boy had gotten hurt when he hadn’t been there to stand up for him.

Honestly, if Liam had ever seen Niall’s dad in the streets, he wasn’t sure if he would have been able to hold back, he wasn’t scared of him, he was just furious at both of the blonde’s parents for treating Niall this way all his life. Of course his own parents had played a role in that, but they hadn’t ever physically hurt Niall at least.

Furthermore, it was killing Liam inside to know that the blonde hadn’t even been able to call him, that he hadn’t been able to come straight to Liam because of this stupid fight between their families and that he had been sitting around in the cold for god knows how long, all alone. Liam was determined to never let anything like this happen again, he wouldn’t leave Niall alone anymore or let him go back to his parents’ house, no fucking way.

“The worst they can do is say no and then we’ll just leave and go somewhere else. But I don’t think they will say no, especially not my mom.” Also, Liam didn’t even know if his dad was home or not, he was kinda hoping that he wasn’t even though he knew he would have to tell him at some point. “Watson really missed you.”

“Did he?” There was a small smile on Niall’s face that Liam caught in the corner of his eye and it made him feel slightly better.

“’course he did, he loves you, you know that.” It wasn’t a lie at all, Watson had never warmed up to anybody as quickly as he had to Niall and Liam had kinda seen that as a sign in the beginning when he had first brought Niall over. Also a little bit because Liam’s dog had been kind of an ice breaker for them before when Liam had followed Niall to the library the first time, which felt like ages in the past now. 

They stopped talking once Liam had parked the car, trying to take a quick breath without noticing when he was getting out of it, the blonde immediately reaching out for his hand, his face looking a bit pale and kind of panicked, much like Liam’s probably. There was no reason to bring Niall’s stuff of course, also because they couldn’t know what was going to happen obviously, but it only meant that they couldn’t really waste any time going upstairs.

Liam had seen both his parents’ cars in the garage, so pretty much everyone was at home and they were going to walk right in there and the brunette had never thought in a billion years that they would ever do that. Maybe it was a good thing though, right? They had been bound to be caught and if all of this had really been such a big secret… they needed to know at some point.

Walking up the stairs, Liam had to almost pull Niall a little bit and the younger boy was holding his hand so tightly that it hurt a bit, but Liam of course just let him, knowing that his boyfriend was terrified beyond anything. If Liam imagined it the other way around, he would have probably died from nervousness having to walk into Niall’s house to meet his parents.

Before opening the door that connected the garage to the house, Liam left them both a second to breathe before reaching out for the door handle and forcing himself to do this. Nothing bad could happen except for this parents yelling around a bit and maybe getting slightly upset, but Liam already knew his mother’s opinion and each time they talked, she seemed to have gotten more used to the idea.

Of course Liam’s parents weren’t in the entrance hall, but Watson was and he immediately started whining and trying to lick their hands and Liam was hoping that it also made Niall feel a little bit better. The brunette had been about to say something, maybe call out for his mother or so, but turned out that that hadn’t really been necessary.

“Liam, where have y-“ And then she saw Niall and she simply broke off and Liam was waiting for the yelling, but instead, his mother just looked defeated as she let out a sigh. “Is this what you classify as being subtle about it?”

“No, but-“

“I told you you shouldn’t bring him here, I… your father is upstairs.” Liam could tell that Niall didn’t want to be here anymore, his grip around the older’s hand had gotten painfully tight and he was kind of half hiding him as if he was afraid of what might happen and Liam just needed to _explain_ before his father would come downstairs. “I don’t know what you thought would happen by showing up here together, but-“

“Niall’s parents threw him out. And they took his key and… he’s my boyfriend and I thought maybe you’d change your mind about… about him staying here.” Right, that had been a lot quicker than Liam would have thought, but he couldn’t really go into detail right now, could he? Besides, it was enough to get his mother nervous anyways.

“Why did they throw you out? Did you ask them about whether they are your parents? Did you say anything about Liam?” She was immediately bombing Niall with a billion questions, not mad or anything, but she had definitely raised her voice and Liam could feel his boyfriend flinch. 

“Um, no, I… I didn’t say anything, I mean, I, uh… I kinda… he threw me out because… um… my best friend is dating a guy and, uh, my dad doesn’t like that and also… he said that… that I’ve been searching around the house or something and that I’m ungrateful and… and he wanted to see my phone but… I didn’t give it to him. Um, he doesn’t know anything about Liam or… or about you.” It must have been hard, saying all this now and Liam made sure to squeeze Niall’s hand, throwing a look at his face before looking back to his mother, not knowing how she was going to react.

Turned out though that there wasn’t really a need to react to anything because his father was suddenly coming downstairs, kinda making them all flinch. The thing was though, Liam would have expected his father to react a lot more heavily than his mother or at least get angry or something, but in fact, he seemed to have no idea what was going on.

“Oh, Liam, who is this? A friend of yours?” Well… maybe Liam shouldn’t have expected his father to know exactly what Niall looked like, but he kind of had. 

“I-“

“Niall Horan. Liam’s boyfriend.” Liam’s mother said it without sounding bitter or anything, and the brunette knew why she had done it. She had left Liam a lot of time to tell his father and it was true that even in this situation, Liam had kinda thought about simply lying. 

“Wait… what? _Horan? Boyfriend?_ What did I miss here?” He seemed to think it was a joke at first because he came downstairs while kind of laughing, maybe sounding a bit nervous while doing it though and at this point, Liam really didn’t know what to say anymore and Niall seemed to only get more terrified as the seconds passed by. “Is this a joke?”

“No, this is Bobby’s and Maura’s… son.” There had been a noticeable moment of hesitation and Liam threw a very quick look at Niall, but his boyfriend was just pale and looking down, probably afraid to meet anybody’s eyes at this point. “And Liam is dating him.”

“But-… you knew about this? How long has this been going on?” Liam’s parents weren’t yelling, his mother actually sounded very calm and collected at this point and his father just seemed as if he had just seen a ghost or something. To his defense, it was probably the very last thing he would have ever expected to see coming downstairs.

“I think they should probably tell you that themselves.” While saying it, Liam’s mother threw a very meaningful look at Liam and the brunette sighed but he still nodded anyways, because after all he was glad that they were given the chance to explain. That his mother seemed as if she would have agreed to let Niall stay for as long as they told his dad.

 

\---------------------

 

Niall kinda felt bad about letting Liam do all the talking, but he wasn’t really sure if he would have gotten out a word if he had tried. They were sitting on the couch, Niall having made sure to squeeze himself between Liam and the arm rest, still tightly holding onto his hand and petting Watson with his free one because the dog had kinda stuck with Niall for some reason. If there had been any doubt whether the blonde had ever been in this house, there surely wasn’t any left.

Liam’s parents were sitting on the other couch and Niall barely ever looked at them, he was less nervous now but he was still terrified of what they could possibly do, maybe they were just calm on the outside? Liam left out a lot of details obviously, but he told his father the background story and then looked at the blonde with hesitation before telling them about Niall’s fight with his dad today after the younger boy had just nodded. He didn’t care what Liam told his parents, he was way past that point, he was just internally praying that things wouldn’t turn out as terrible as he feared because the concept of accepting parents was just so damn strange to him.

“This is… bad.” Liam’s father finally spoke up after Liam had finished a minute ago and they had all been sitting there without saying one word. Or looking up, in Niall’s case, he was just staring at Liam’s hand in his lap, playing with his fingers. 

“Can Niall stay?” This seemed to really be Liam’s whole concern and Niall would have never thought that it’d work, but he suddenly wasn’t sure anymore.

“I think that there are a few more things we need to clear up before we talk about that.” This wasn’t a no though, was it? Liam’s father sounded very rational and not as if he would start screaming around and throwing punches any second like Niall’s dad would have. Then again, he would have never even agreed to sit down with Liam and Niall to begin with and this alone told Niall that either Liam’s parents weren’t the bad guys in this story or they were just a lot better at playing this game. 

“Considering the circumstances, I’m not sure whether it’s wise to not tell them the truth after all this.” It was Liam’s mother who said it, but she was speaking to her husband and not to the two boys and Niall almost flinched when Liam kissed the top of his head briefly, offering Niall a smile that the blonde tried his best to return. 

“Maybe you’re right… “ Liam’s father let out a sigh, looking from Liam to Niall and though the blonde wasn’t looking up, he could feel the man’s stare. “You boys need to understand that nobody can find out about this and if I had been the one to see you in hospital, I would have not told Liam about your… father, Niall. But what’s done is done and knowing Bobby… I can hardly imagine he will let you back in that house if he really suspects that you might know the truth.”

“We won’t tell anyone, we just want to know, dad.” Liam sounded very eager to find out while Niall on the other hand suddenly wasn’t sure anymore. He finally looked up when he heard Liam’s father getting up off the couch while sighing, slowly walking over to the window as if they were in some dramatic movie or something and Niall could feel his heart beating faster. “Please.”

There was another moment of silence and Niall kept his eyes glued to Liam’s father’s back, already feeling sick to his stomach before the brunette’s mother even spoke up after a full minute. “Tell them, there’s no point keeping it a secret any longer.”

Liam didn’t seem to dare say a word anymore after that and Niall actually heard him taking a breath even though his father hadn’t even said anything so far. He wasn’t looking at either of them when he slowly came back to sit down again and Niall didn’t lower his eyes anymore this time, kinda forgetting out of nervousness, even when Liam’s father looked directly at him.

“Niall, I want you to know that nothing of what I’m going to say means that… your parents are bad people or that you should hate them. I am not going to ask you to believe what I’m about to tell you and I know they told you other versions of what has happened, but… this is the right one, and you can both do with it whatever you please. But I would ask you to listen to the full story before judging us for how we decided to handle the situation.” Niall didn’t really know what Liam’s dad was referring to, whether he was talking about Niall and Greg being neglected as children and the Payne family simply watching, but at this point, he really didn’t care anymore.

“I… I will.” The blonde promised, a bit relieved because even if Liam’s father was just making up more lies, he was at least being nice about it and talking in a calm voice.

“Thank you.” He leaned back then, looking away from Niall and the blonde kind of held his breath as he waited, his hand slowing to a stop behind Watson’s ears. “Bobby has been my best friend since… I don’t even know when and I would have never started this company if it hadn’t been for him being so eager to just get on with it and… to my surprise, it turned out to be a success. And it was good, for years, we both got married and our families continued to get along, we had Liam’s sisters, and then your brother was born, Niall, but… things changed when Maura got pregnant again.”

“With me?” Niall couldn’t help the interruption, but the look on Liam’s dad’s face was answer enough before the man had even said a word. Oh.

“No. Maura has always had troubles with mental illness, as you probably know, and it got worse when she got pregnant again because the doctors told her they weren’t sure if the baby would survive. Everything went fine though, for a few months, she was away a lot in special hospitals and Bobby stayed here to work with me in the business and Liam was a year old-“

“Wait, what? Why was I a year old at this point?” Honestly, Niall wouldn’t have even noticed that detail, he was still busy trying to figure out what exactly had happened to the baby his mother had been pregnant with. Had she lost it? “You told me this happened before I was born and me and Niall are the same age.”

“Liam, please, I’m getting to that and we never explicitly told you that anyways. But please let me finish.” He sounded very firm so Liam didn’t say another word, but Niall could tell that the older boy was about to burst with curiosity. “There were complications, the baby, it was supposed to be a girl, was due to be born on September 13th, which, I know, is your birthday, Niall. Except, I don’t think it is.”

He only THOUGHT so?

“Bobby of course went to be with his wife on the due date and when he arrived he called me and he was crying, telling me that the baby wasn’t going to survive, that there was nothing the doctors could do and that he didn’t know how to tell his wife because she was very mentally unstable at the time. This was the last time I heard from him for over a week. Then after that time he called me to tell me he had had no time to call but that they were on the way home, that the baby was just fine and that it was a boy after all, the ultrasound must have been unclear.” At this point, everyone was being dead quiet, and Niall actually thought he needed to throw up any second.

“Of course we were thrilled for them, they were our best friends and they had wanted another baby and they had quite a drive ahead of them and would only arrive at night, so I didn’t question that they needed some time to rest the next few days, that they didn’t want us to see the baby immediately. Except, a month passed by or even more before we finally saw you, Niall. And when we did… I think things immediately fell in place for both of us.

“There was no way you were only a bit over a month at this point, you were almost as big as Liam and you looked at _least_ 5 or 6 months, if not older. It was so obvious to see and we didn’t know what to say, we played along for a while but at some point… I just couldn’t hold it in any longer and I confronted Bobby, I asked him whether they had lost the baby and decided to adopt, or… I don’t even know. He got really angry and I accused him of having kidnapped you and… that was the breaking point. 

“I’m not proud of this, especially not because they had two small children at the time, but I couldn’t work with him any longer, I didn’t want to be involved in a child abduction and Bobby kept denying and kept telling me I am crazy. I’m not sure if he ever told Maura the truth, I’m not even sure if she knows what happened or if Bobby just brought her a child to pretend it was theirs. We did go to the police and I don’t know if they just didn’t look closely enough or whether there was nothing to find, but nothing ever happened. This is a small town and accusing somebody else of such a crime… I think the police thought we simply had a fallout and I was trying to get revenge and seeing as you were never supposed to have been born here anyways, I don’t think they went out of their way.

“No one wanted to hire your parents after this, your mother because she was highly unstable and your father because everyone knew we had a fallout, but I never actively tried to talk badly of him with possible employees even though he accused me of doing it multiple times. We offered them money after we realized that you and your brother would get taken away otherwise and they accepted it but I have no idea what they actually did with it.

“So then you grew up, we barely ever saw you, they never sent you to Kindergarten and then on Liam’s first day of school… you were there, even though you were supposed to be a whole year younger and you clearly weren’t. They had kept you at home, kept to themselves and never showed you off to anyone apparently and no one ever questioned anything except for us. We were afraid Liam would make friends with you and that Bobby and Maura might do something to him as well out of revenge, so we put him into a different school to keep you apart. By the time you both went to uni… I have to admit that I wasn’t so worried anymore.

“Maybe… maybe we told ourselves that this was crazy at some point, that there was just no way… but the fact alone that they are still pretending you were born here and that Bobby to this day insists that you are his son… they aren’t your parents, I don’t have a doubt anymore. I don’t know how they pulled it off, I don’t know what happened, but they came back with a baby that was months older than it should have been and… I think they took you.”

“You knew the whole time?! You knew they kidnapped him and-“

“Liam, what were we supposed to do? We talked to the police, we tried to talk to Bobby and Maura and nothing. This was years ago, a lot of children go missing every single day and then at times we weren’t even sure if maybe _we_ were the ones making this up. I just don’t know what else we could have done, we called the hospital Maura was at but they can’t give out information to strangers obviously and with time… with time we moved on. And don’t think we didn’t feel guilty at first, don’t think I don’t feel guilty now with Niall sitting here, but what were we supposed to do?” This was… a lot. Niall didn’t know what to think, he just felt numb at this point, his hand having gone limp in Liam’s.

“And you have to remember you were only really young, Li, and so were your sisters, if they were capable of kidnapping a baby… we had no idea what else they were capable of doing out of revenge or to make sure we keep quiet. We were afraid and at some point we were just relieved to cut all ties with them and move on with our own lives. I knew they had never had a lot of money after that, but… I never knew they mistreat Niall and his brother like that.” She was referring to the bruise on Niall’s cheek, which Liam had mentioned before, probably to guilt trip his parents into letting him stay. “Now you know why I didn’t want you and Niall to be together.”

“Because you’re still afraid.” It wasn’t a question, Liam said it like it was a fact and it probably was. There was just no way that they could have made this up, all of them knew that this was the truth and that no matter what Niall’s father had made up today… it didn’t matter anymore. 

“Yes. And now that we have seen what Bobby will do if he just suspects that Niall doesn’t believe his story, I don’t know what he’d do if he found out that we told you what happened.” He’d probably kill them all or something, Niall didn’t think he could ever be this terrified of anybody, to fear for his own life, but he suddenly did. “And I really wish we could somehow help you, Niall, but we don’t know where you were born or who your real parents might have been, they could have driven anywhere to take you before coming back home and paying someone to fake all those documents… I never even knew that they pretended you were born here… what did they put as your birth year?”

“The same as Liam’s.” If there had been any doubt left that all of this was fake, then there wasn’t any left now. Clearly, they had been fooling Liam’s parents, telling them Niall was their son and a year younger than Liam while going ahead and making the blonde a year older than what they had tried to pass him off as. At least in front of the Payne’s, no one else seemed to have even known about it. “Do you still know where they were when… when this happened? Like, where the hospital was?”

“Of course we do, we-“

“Babe, you can’t go there.” Liam kinda interrupted his mother, who seemed to have been ready to get up and maybe even write an address down for Niall, and the blonde tried not to get upset about it, but he kinda was. What did Liam expect him to do? Nothing?

“Why not? I need to know who my real parents are, what if they’re still looking for me?” Okay, this sounded pathetic, but it kinda just slipped out and Liam’s expression fell a little, getting even more sad than it had already been. “I mean… maybe they are, right? My parent- I mean, no one would ever know that I went there and… I can’t just not do anything, Li.”

“I know, but… “ But nothing, apparently, because Liam just broke off, looking at Niall with a really worried expression on his face and the blonde actually just wanted to start crying right now. “What if you don’t find anything?”

“I don’t know what else to do. I just… why didn’t the police do anything? I mean, whoever my real parents were, they must have gone to the police as well, right? Why did nobody do anything?” Niall was getting upset now and he felt tears building up in his eyes and if he was being quite honest, he was pretty fucking pissed off at Liam’s parents right now.

Another reason why they had probably waited so long to tell them the truth was because they were afraid Niall would get them into legal trouble. They had known about this all along and if their story was right, they had spent about 20 years knowing that somebody in this town had abducted a child and passed it off as their own without making real attempts to help him.

“Bobby, he… he used to know a lot of people who were involved in things I didn’t wanna be a part of and we probably made the most profit in the company that year, so… I can imagine he had it quite easy getting those documents and maybe even paying a few people to keep quiet. We both had a lot of connections and being in the position he was in when we still worked together… I can imagine people, like us, were afraid of what he might do if they raised their voice against him, even after I kicked him out. And I doubt anybody knows the truth, I doubt anybody ever even met you when you were a toddler, they never had many close friends and we were the only ones who they couldn’t keep you a secret from. I’m sorry, Niall, that you had to suffer the most consequences out of anybody.” Well, it was all nice and well if they were sorry now, but that wouldn’t make things undone. 

“If there is anything we can do to help, then let us know. I just would advise both of you to not spread this story and to especially not ask the Horans about any of this. We don’t know what they are capable of doing, especially after today.” Niall’s dad would probably shoot them both or something, Niall actually wouldn’t have been surprised anymore to find out that his dad or better, his kidnapper, was also a murderer. “And also… I guess seeing as you are already here and know the truth and since you are Liam’s boyfriend and all… it would be fine if you stay. If you want to.”

“Um… thank you.” Of course Niall wanted to, but he could barely be relieved now after all this. It really was a lot to take in, find out his whole life was basically a lie, that he hadn’t even been born on the date he had thought, hell, he probably had had a whole different name, a whole different life. Then again, if none of this had happened, he would have never met Liam. “Do you think that… that my mother knows? I mean Maura? Sometimes, she… she has these episodes where she doesn’t even know what’s going on… “

“I can’t answer that, Niall, but I know what you are talking about. It could be that she doesn’t know that her real baby died, but then again… at some moments she seemed like nothing at all was wrong with her and I can’t remember her simply forgetting things. Although, if it was such a traumatic event, she could have also been affected by posttraumatic stress disorder but I don’t know if she ever got proper treatment. I also don’t know her exact diagnose because they never liked talking about it, especially not anymore after all this.” This only got Niall more confused and also… even angrier at his supposed father, because what the hell? Why hadn’t he ever made sure his wife got proper treatment? In Niall’s mind, there really was only one person who was to blame for all of this.

“At least now I know why they hate me so much… and why there’s no pictures of me as a baby or child.” And also why there had been a ‘It’s a girl!’ congratulations card in his parents’ drawers, but Niall didn’t mention that detail because it didn’t really matter anymore. Why had they stolen a baby if they apparently hadn’t even wanted him?

Nobody answered after this, probably because everyone had run out of things to say and in all honesty, there was nothing Niall still wanted to ask anyways. There was no doubt in his mind that this was the truth because it was the only one that actually made sense and tied in with everything he had figured out. A part of him was maybe even relieved a little bit, that those weren’t his real parents, that maybe his real parents would have never treated him this way.

Maybe that made Niall even more curious as to who they might have been.

“Um… could you maybe still tell me where the hospital was?” Niall knew that Liam didn’t agree with this, but he didn’t care in the moment and Liam’s mother nodded immediately, seemingly eager to give Niall the only information she could actually give him.

It was obvious that both of Liam’s parents felt guilty and if Niall put himself into their shoes all those years back… he wouldn’t have known what else they could have done. And apparently they HAD given money to Niall’s fake family and they had gone to the police, so Niall didn’t really have a reason to be upset, right? At least not with them.

“Here you go. I don’t know if it’s helpful, but… “ Liam’s mother had written it down, apparently knowing it by heart and maybe Niall had expected it all to be a bit more exciting, but it wasn’t really. Just some hospital hours away from them, actually the same one the blonde had seen on some medical bills in his parents’ drawers, but those had been dated years after all this. “Is there anything else we can do?”

“Not really, uh, thank you.” Now Niall felt quite weird being here and all, but it’s not like he had anywhere else to go and he wanted to be with Liam obviously. Also, it seemed kinda ridiculous now that Liam’s parents had kept this from him for so long, but then again… had Niall still been living at home, he might have actually just blurted out with it one day and then they would have surely killed him or something.

“Right, well… as we already said, it would be wise to not spread this. Of course you can both do with that information whatever you want but I wouldn’t go asking Bobby and Maura because I have no idea what they will do if they find out we told you or that we are letting you stay here. Or that… that you two are together.” Right, Niall had completely forgotten that they had actually thought that their relationship would be the biggest problem here but turned out that the biggest problem was that Niall had been kidnapped as a child. 

“We still need to have a word about that, Liam.” Liam’s father threw in, not sounding angry or anything so Niall wasn’t too worried for the brunette right now, also because his father had never really commented on it after Liam had told him, he had just been carrying on normally. “Later, if you excuse me, I actually have to take a phone call now.”

So he left and then eventually Liam’s mother did as well, leaving Niall and Liam sitting on the couch by themselves and the blonde felt himself relaxing a little bit even though he was maybe more confused than ever. Plus, now that they knew all this, Niall didn’t actually know what was going to happen now or what he was supposed to do and it was frustrating and the only thing really keeping him calm was Liam because Niall knew he would have never left him alone. 

“What are you thinking right now?” Liam asked after a moment and the blonde was really glad that he hadn’t asked how he was because he honestly didn’t even know himself.

So Niall thought about it for a moment before leaning back a bit so they could look at each other and though he actually felt a bit weird, he still found himself smiling. “How lucky I am that I got you.” 

The brunette’s face immediately lightened up at that and he looked like he was about to say something but then instead, he leaned in to kiss the blonde and though Niall was a little surprised, he didn’t reject his boyfriend of course and when their lips met, the blonde thought that maybe things weren’t as bad as they seemed, for as long as he had Liam.

It was a bit weird, to be staying with Liam’s family, especially when Liam’s father wanted to talk to Liam alone, so Niall thought about it for a bit before giving himself a push to go help his mother in the kitchen. She seemed very surprised but also kind of happy and Niall was really trying his best not to screw up or make them regret letting him stay.

They also talked to Harry and Louis on the phone later, when they were already in Liam’s bed and because Niall didn’t really feel like re-telling the whole story, they made it as short as somehow possible, but it still caused the other two to freak out of course. Which was understandable, Niall and Liam had had a few hours to deal with it already even though they had never really talked about it, just between the two of them.

“Do you think that… that they’re still looking for me?” Niall asked into almost complete darkness, Liam’s face so close to his though that he felt the older’s breath against his skin.

“I think so. Why wouldn’t they?” He sounded like he meant it, running his fingers through Niall’s hair and then down his cheek and the blonde felt a shudder going through his body. 

“I don’t know, maybe they gave up… they probably moved on.” It had been so long ago and Niall had only been a few months back then so they wouldn’t even have any idea what he could have looked like. “I hope they did.”

“Why?” They were both lying on their sides in Liam’s bed and Niall made sure to press closer into the older boy and Liam got the hint immediately, wrapping the blonde up tightly in his arms.

“It must be terrible losing a child and not knowing if it’s still even alive or not.” After all those years, they probably thought Niall was dead, it was the most logical explanation. “Maybe… maybe they wouldn’t have even been good parents, I mean, I don’t know them. And maybe I never will. And if none of it had happened… I wouldn’t even know you.” 

“But it’s your real family…” Liam was half whispering and the blonde didn’t know why but he did know one thing.

“I know, I do wanna find them, but nobody could ever be as important to me as you are.” It was true and maybe it sounded harsh but then again, not really. Liam was the love of Niall’s life, of course he was the most important person to him, right? And the blonde wouldn’t have wanted to know what he would be doing right now if Liam had never decided to talk to him. “Who knows, my life might have been even worse with my real family, I mean, there’s no guarantee, right?”

“True… I’m gonna help you find them though, if you want me to. And… “ Liam hesitated for a second then, seemingly only because he wanted to rearrange them a bit, pulling Niall even more tightly against him until the blonde almost felt a bit short of breath. “I love you, more than anything and no matter what happens I’m always gonna be there. And if there’s anything you wanna talk about then we can, okay? And I’ll do my best to help.” 

“Thank you, Li… I love you too.” Probably more than Niall could have ever told or showed him, but he still wouldn’t ever stop trying.

 

\-----------------------

 

“How are you doing? And Niall?” Harry almost immediately asked as soon as he had sat down next to Liam and the brunette flinched a bit because he hadn’t expected anybody to come join him. “My mom’s still really worried.”

“We’re… good, I guess.” They were, kind of, they had spent all weekend at Liam’s house and the brunette would need some time to get used to his parents actually accepting Niall and allowing him to stay, but even more time to deal with the truth they had wanted for so long. The only good thing that had come of it had been that one, they definitely were not related in any way and two, Niall seemed to be relieved that his parents hadn’t actually been the ones mistreating him. 

“Did you find out anything new?” Liam knew that Niall had been texting with Louis throughout the weekend because he had done it from Liam’s phone, but both Louis and Harry seemed even more eager to solve this than Liam and Niall, who had basically stayed in Liam’s bed for two days straight without ever going outside. 

“No, I mean… there’s nothing else to find out, really. My parents told us everything they know and I have no idea how we would even start looking for Niall’s family… “ Also, Liam was a bit afraid, because what if they actually found them and they turned out completely different than the blonde had hoped? It would have killed Liam to see his boyfriend get hurt like that again. “We only know the hospital where Niall’s mo- where she lost the baby. But we don’t know where they took Niall from.”

“Yeah, Niall told Louis that yesterday… I think it’s kinda funny.” Wait, what?

“What’s funny?” Liam was confused, but he was also busy searching for Niall across the cafeteria so he couldn’t really look at Harry. They hadn’t seen each other in a few hours now, but Liam had driven them both to uni in his own car because did it really matter anymore? Still, they were keeping their distance in public, just because there was no need to test their fate. 

“It’s the hospital I was born at, it’s my home town. Did you forget?” Oh. “It’s also the same hospital my mom lost her third baby.”

“Oh, I… I didn’t know that, sorry. I mean, I know she lost a baby, but… “ But not that it had been there and it felt really weird to Liam to talk about it now, in a context like this, but it was Harry who had brought it up. It definitely was a weird coincidence. “So… do you think your mom would remember if, you know, if anybody reported a missing child back then?”

“I’m not sure… I would ask her but I didn’t tell her on purpose, I think it’d just bring up bad memories, especially because Niall’s mom, or whoever she is, also lost a baby.” Right, this wasn’t a good idea and yet Liam somehow felt an urge to push Harry to go and talk to his mom, because… holy shit, that really was a strange coincidence and if there was any chance she knew something… “But if I got the timeline correct, the thing with Niall happened while my mom was still pregnant for a few more months, so maybe it’d be fine to ask her about it.” 

“You don’t have to, I think Niall wants to drive there anyways and… I don’t know what he wants to do there.” Maybe ask around or so, Liam had no idea, but he would still go with him of course and do anything possible to help Niall.

“If you need any help, I could come, I’ve lived there almost all my childhood.” Right, Liam really needed to remember that, it’s just, he had had other things on his mind. “Kinda crazy to think about… like, if Niall’s real family lived there, me and him might have still met as kids.”

“But I wouldn’t have met him.” Or maybe he would have, through some very complicated way, but Liam didn’t actually like the possibility of never having met Niall and he did feel quite bad about it even though the blonde had told him that he wouldn’t have wanted things to be different. “Anyways, um… things are the way they are.”

“Great observation, Liam.” It hadn’t been supposed to make Harry laugh, but somehow it did and Liam allowed himself to smile briefly seeing as he hadn’t had a lot to smile about the past few days. Then again, he had watched a movie with Niall last night and they had been laughing quite a bit, but that was different. “So is Niall just gonna… live with you now? I mean, what if his parents or whoever find out?”

“I don’t know, we haven’t really thought about it that much, I also drove us both to uni today, um… I wouldn’t have ever thought my parents would really let him stay or that they would feel so guilty all of a sudden. But I guess if they let him then he’ll just stay and I was going to move out at some point anyways, so.” Then Niall could just come, right? They hadn’t been dating for that long, but in Liam’s mind it had at least been 2 years or something, he was just that used to being with the blonde already.

“But if his parents really kidnapped him and are criminals, aren’t you a bit afraid of what’s gonna happen if they find out? I mean, there has to be a reason your own parents kept this from you for so long, probably because they were scared of dragging you into it. And if the Horans find out that Niall lives with you, they will probably come to the conclusion that your parents told him the truth of what happened.” Harry wasn’t really making things any better right now. 

“Yeah, but we can’t do anything about that. I mean, no offense, but I rather want him to stay with me than with you and your mom or Louis and if that means his parents are going to eventually find out… “ Then they would just have to deal with that, Liam wasn’t going to leave Niall alone to stay at Harry’s or Louis’, Niall was his boyfriend and they had caused all this trouble by themselves. 

“I get what you mean, I was just thinking about it.” The younger boy shrugged and Liam thought they were done now, again letting his eyes scan the cafeteria for Niall even though he wouldn’t have known what to do if he saw him. “Do you really wanna find his real family?”

“Of course, why wouldn’t we?” What kinda question was that?

“No, I mean, do _you_ wanna find them? What if they live really far away?” Okay, what exactly was Harry implying here? “My hometown is like a four hour drive from here, if he really was born there, and if he wants to stay there, y-“

“Then he can, it’s his decision, not mine. And obviously he wants to find his family and I want him to be happy so I’m gonna help, he deserves to know them.” Liam loved Niall with all his heart, why would he have ever done something to hurt the boy? Still, Liam had of course thought about that, about Niall wanting to be with his real family in case they found them, but… if this was what he wanted, who was Liam to try and keep him from doing it? “Why do you think I’d be so selfish?”

“I didn’t mean it like that, I was just-… oh shit.” Harry interrupted himself, his eyes clearly having gotten stuck on something and when Liam figured out what, he was already up and ready to run over without thinking if it hadn’t been for Harry’s fingers immediately having wrapped around his wrist to hold him back. “Liam, no!”

Because the cafeteria was filled with people, Liam hadn’t noticed Niall and Louis all the way on the other side buying something to drink, but it must have drawn Harry’s attention when Niall’s brother had started arguing with Niall about something. At least that’s what it looked like, they were too far away to hear anything.

“You can’t get involved in front of his brother.” It wouldn’t have been smart, Liam knew that, but right when he had been about to say something else, both him and Harry were kinda shut up for a moment. “Holy shit.”

Greg had literally punched Niall in the face before walking off and Liam had pulled himself free of Harry’s grip within a second, not caring anymore who was watching them or who would see them together. He wasn’t going to sit here and just watch his boyfriend getting hurt, there was just no fucking way.

“You’re bleeding, we should go to the bathroom. Do you think he broke it?” Though Louis sounded worried once Liam was getting closer, he definitely wasn’t sounding worried enough for Liam.

“I don’t think so- Li, what are you doing?!” Niall sounded shocked, he had his hand covering half his face, blood spilling out between his fingers, probably coming from his nose and yet all he seemed worried about now was Liam being here. “We can’t-“

“Fuck this, Niall, fuck whoever sees us, are you okay? Where did he hit you?” Liam literally didn’t know what to do, he knew they had attracted an audience, but it didn’t keep him from touching the blonde and it seemed to have only taken this once sentence to make the younger boy not care either.

“My nose… fuck, it really hurts.” It seemed as if the younger boy was trying hard not to cry right now and there was nothing Liam wanted to see less right now. He already wanted to kill Niall’s brother for ever putting a finger on his boy. 

“C’mon, let’s get you out of here, babe, it’ll be okay...” The brunette had just helplessly been rubbing Niall’s back, searching his pockets for something to catch the blood with but he couldn’t find anything. “Does anybody have a tissue?”

“I do, here.” It was Harry who had answered and handed it to Liam though the brunette had simply been asking into the group of people staring at them. No idea what they were thinking right now or why they were staring, either because Niall had just gotten punched or because Liam was the one tending to him.

“Thanks… here, baby. C’mon, let’s go. Are you dizzy?” Liam made sure to wrap an arm around the blonde after having made sure he was properly holding the tissue to his nose, slowly leading him out of the cafeteria, not really caring whether Louis and Harry or whoever else was following. 

“No, I’m fine besides the nose bleed… fuck, I hate him so much, it’s not my fault my dad is even angrier than usual and letting it all out on Greg. I think he knows something is going on, Li, Greg said he has searched my whole room and then proceeded to search Greg’s as well, I think he’s going to throw him out as well and Greg thinks it’s all my fault or some shit.” It was kinda hard to understand Niall when he was talking with a hand and a tissue in front of his nose, but he still sounded really angry and Liam felt quite the same.

“I can find him and make sure he never touches you again.” Liam could have most definitely done that, but he already knew Niall was going to say no even before he was slowly shaking his head.

“No, it’s okay, it wouldn’t change anything and it’d just get him more suspicious. I’m sure my dad will know about us being together in less than a day.” They had entered the bathroom now and it was empty, so that was a relief even though Liam wasn’t sure if he really still cared about that.

“I couldn’t just watch him punching you and not seeing if you’re okay.” Softly, Liam tried to get Niall to move his hand away from his face after getting some more tissues and wetting them at the sink, his stomach turning a bit at the sight. “I’ll try to clean it, okay? I’ll be gentle.”

“I know, it’s not your fault, Li… I don’t even care anymore who finds out… how does it look?” He did lift his face a bit to give the brunette better access but flinched a bit upon the first touch so Liam went more slowly, already feeling terrible for causing the blonde any more pain than necessary.

“It looks fine, I promise, just bloody.” True, it didn’t look misplaced or as if it was broken and Liam was sure it would have hurt a lot more than that if it had indeed been broken. “I-“

Liam kinda got cut off when somebody else entered the bathroom, but it were only Harry and Louis luckily, carrying all of their bags which Liam had completely forgotten about. “Holy shit, that’s gross.”

“Shut up, Lou.” Niall grumbled, his fingers curled pretty tightly into Liam’s shirt though. “You can be glad he just ran off without punching you as well.”

“I would have liked to see him try.” Louis laughed, as if he would have been able to easily beat Greg, but Liam wasn’t so sure about that. “Anyways, what are you gonna do now that everyone knows about you two? People were already talking in the cafeteria when we left.”

“Fuck them, everyone was bound to find out anyways and… I really wanna go to the hospital as soon as possible and maybe we find out enough so that we can go to the police and then it doesn’t matter anymore what Bobby and Maura know or don’t know.” Niall’s voice sounded pretty harsh, he had also started calling them by their first names over the weekend and had apparently told himself that they would find something at that hospital for sure, which worried Liam quite a bit, because… what if they didn’t? He didn’t want Niall to get disappointed. “Shit… “

“Sorry… “ Liam had pushed a bit too hard upon hearing Niall talking like that, as if he had already planned their whole trip there or something. 

“Um, about you going there, actually… there’s something I gotta tell you guys, Liam already knows because I told him a few minutes ago.” Oh shit, Louis also hadn’t known?! Harry sounded a bit nervous but Liam didn’t turn around, he was determined to clean Niall’s face first even though the blonde had a hard time holding still. “So the hospital… is actually in my hometown.”

“Wait, what? Why didn’t you tell me that, y-“

“Oh my god, does that mean you lived there while it happened?!” Okay, now there was no way anymore Liam would get to clean Niall’s face properly, so he gave him a clean tissue instead, watching the scene unfold kinda worriedly. Now Harry was making Niall even more hopes, this wasn’t good. “Does that mean maybe your mom knows something about it?!”

“Possibly, but… the thing is that… that I don’t know if I should ask her about it because, uh, she also… she also lost a baby in that hospital, like, when I was a year old or something. And it still really affects her, she got a divorce because of it and stuff, so… “ Harry shrugged and Liam watched both of Niall’s and Louis’ faces fall. “But I can come with you if you really do go there, I still know a few neighbors from when I was a kid.”

“Thank you, um… I’m sorry about… about the baby.” Niall sounded shocked but Liam could still see the hope in the blonde’s eyes and he wrapped an arm around him, pulling him in a bit closer. Somehow, he had a bad feeling about all of this.

“It’s fine. I mean it’s not, but… I don’t remember any of it, obviously.” Still, Liam knew that it had affected Harry’s life a lot as well, his mother had always been really protective of him and Harry had once told Liam when they had been younger, that he could hear his mother cry every single night. So really, asking her about all this probably wasn’t the best decision.

“What do you mean… she lost a baby?” Louis had stayed quiet until now and Liam would have really wished he could have told him to shut up right now, but instead, he made sure to try and calm himself down, hold Niall a bit tighter.

“She lost it as in, it died.” Harry rolled his eyes at that, very clearly not wanting to talk about it anymore and yet Louis kept pushing for some reason.

“Are you sure it… died?” What?

“Of course I’m sure, Lou, what the hell? There’s a bloody gravestone in my hometown. It was only a few days old when it happened, why are you questioning all of that?” There was some silence, and Liam could literally hear the _click_ in his own and Harry’s head when they both realized why Louis sounded so skeptical. “Seriously, you didn’t only think Liam and Niall are brothers, now you think me and Niall are brothers? It’s impossible, Lou, my mom was still pregnant months after the thing with Niall even happened.”

“Sorry, I was just considering it, okay? It’s a weird coincidence and also…. How do you know when all this even happened, you were a literal infant at the time.” True, there was no way Harry could have remembered all this himself but Liam still didn’t think there was anything to Louis’ theory.

“My mom told me, why would she lie? It’s as bad telling a toddler their sibling is dead as it would have been to tell them it was kidnapped.” Okay, they were getting a bit too loud for Liam’s taste, he shared a quick look with Niall, thinking about saying something so this wouldn’t escalate into an actual fight but then he stayed quiet because… well, because Louis did have valid points. Even though Niall and Harry probably weren’t brothers, it was weird that both their mothers, or not in Niall’s case, had lost babies in that hospital and that all of this had happened in such a short time span.

“Okay, okay, sorry, I was just considering it, nothing else. I mean, your mom could have told you anything to make it more suitable for you as a child… but you and Niall are the same age according to Liam’s parents so it wouldn’t make sense, I didn’t think about that, sorry.” He did sound sorry, but Liam could tell that he was only apologizing now so they would drop the topic, not because he had realized it was nonsense. “It’s still all a weird coincidence, if you all go there then I’m coming.”

“We’ll go whenever Niall wants to go.” Liam told them though the more they talked about it, the less he wanted to actually do it. They wouldn’t find anything there, Liam was almost sure of it, but seeing the look on his boyfriend’s face kinda made it impossible for him to speak about his worries.

All Liam knew was that it would have been wise to go as soon as possible, because once the Horans found out about what had happened at the cafeteria today, Liam wasn’t sure if either of them would still be able to sleep at night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi everyone! :)
> 
> first of all, i hope you all had a nice christmas if you celebrate or just a nice week! as you might have noticed this isnt the last chapter though i changed it to 16 a while ago, but it was simply impossible to end it with just one more chapter, so after this one there will be 1-2 more chapters (my guess, im kinda terrible at predicting those things)
> 
> i hope you all liked the big reveal haha! now we will see what happens next ;) also, i wish you all a great start in the new year in a few days!


	17. Chapter 17

“Maybe I should try talking to them.“ Niall was hesitant about speaking up because he knew what Liam’s reaction was going to be like. “I mean, maybe they’ll get scared and tell me at least something useful.”

“Ni, I don’t… I don’t think that’s a good idea.” Liam turned around to look at the blonde, who had been attempting to do homework on his laptop while lying on Liam’s bed and the brunette was sitting at his desk studying for a test. It had a really domestic feeling to it somehow and Niall was quite enjoying all this though the reason they were able to do this wasn’t exactly the happiest. “If they tell you anything at all, it would just confirm what my parents said. And they clearly wanna pretend it never happened.”

“Maybe I don’t actually have a family. Like, maybe they took me from an orphanage or something, that would make a lot more sense, wouldn’t it?” It was hard concentrating on anything at all, especially because of what Harry had said at uni today, plus also a bit because Niall’s face still hurt from his brother hitting him. Liam had insisted to let it be checked out by a doctor so they had waited there for at least an hour and a half before coming back home. 

“I don’t know. It’s just all really strange and nothing makes sense, but… if you actually wanna go talk to them then please tell me so I can come.” Liam was so sweet, he would have done anything for the blonde and Niall knew it but it also made him feel rather guilty. “Do you think they already know about us?”

“Probably, we weren’t very subtle.” After the incident with Greg, they had been walking through the hallways holding hands and then had gotten in the same car and a ton of people had seen them and yet Niall had never felt this free and careless in his entire life. “I don’t think I’ll actually talk to them, it was just a thought. I guess I just wanted to give them a chance to explain themselves but… they probably don’t even deserve it.”

There was a moment of silence and Niall tried to keep on writing on his laptop when Liam suddenly came over, sitting on the other half of the bed and waiting until the blonde looked over at him. “It’s okay wishing they have a different explanation for all of this and that none of it is true, they have been your parents all your life.”

Niall felt quite stupid for being so obvious that Liam could read him like an open book and he slowly looked away from the brunette, swallowing hard. “It’s just… when I was younger I always thought it was my fault that they didn’t like me and I tried so hard to impress them and it never got any better and now… now I’ll never know what it’s like to have parents I actually get along with just for a day and they took that away from me and for what? They didn’t even want me, so why did they take me?”

“There’s a chance that we will find y-“

“But what if we don’t, Li?” The blonde simply interrupted Liam, not giving him an attempt to try and calm him down because it was actually the very last thing he wanted. He hadn’t really had a good cry about all this and he also didn’t want to, but he still felt tears building up in his eyes now. “I tried telling myself that going to that stupid town would change anything, but they probably didn’t even take me from there, it’s a four hour drive, they could have just stopped somewhere or I don’t even know. We will never find them, never in a billion years.”

“Babe, you don’t know that, we have to at least try.” Liam sounded desperate now, maybe also a bit panicked but Niall was barely listening to him, he had gotten himself worked up all day and now he was at a breaking point. 

“For what? If I still have real parents they probably moved on with their lives and why wouldn’t they? They probably think I’m dead and maybe they don’t even want me to come back and maybe it shouldn’t even matter because I never knew them anyways and I don’t know what would happen if I did find them… I mean, my name isn’t even my bloody name, my birthday isn’t my birthday and… I don’t even know who I am.” Okay, Niall was overacting, but he couldn’t help it anymore, it just all bubbled out and Liam just sat there listening, watching him with a worried look on his face that seemed to be reserved for only Niall these days. “What if I find them and they hate me as well? Or what if I hate them? And then what would we do, go to the police? Watch my parents get locked up in jail and Greg coming after me? He isn’t even my fucking brother!”

“Niall, hey… careful.” The blonde had almost managed to send his laptop flying to the floor as he had sat up but Liam had caught it in time, making sure to close it and putting it on the bottom of the bed. “Come here.”

“I don’t want to.” Niall sniffed, well aware that he was acting like a stubborn child and yet when Liam’s hand rubbed across his back, it only took him a second to change his mind and let himself fall into the older boy’s embrace. 

“I know it doesn’t seem like it, but… everything will be okay, Nialler. You’re okay, you have friends who would do anything for you and you can stay here for as long as you want and you will graduate from uni in a few years and get a good job and everything will be just fine, I promise. And I’m always here for you and I love you and I’ll try my very best to help you in any way that I can and no matter what happens, we have each other and no one can change that.” Liam had let himself fall back against the pillows a bit so that Niall was almost lying on top of him now, crying silently into the older’s neck while Liam was rubbing his back and stroking his hair. “I know it’s a lot right now, but… it’s going to get better, we will try our best to find them, okay? Even if it takes years and it’s much easier nowadays anyways, we can google and use the internet and maybe Harry can talk to his mom after all, yeah? It’ll be fine.”

“I don’t even deserve you… “ It was true, Liam was way too good for Niall and it just made the blonde cry even harder while Liam was kissing his head, tightening his arms around him.

“Of course, Ni, you deserve the whole world. And don’t try to protest because it’s the truth and sometimes I still can’t believe that you actually wanna be with me and that everything turned out this way and that I get to call you my boyfriend. You’re amazing and you’re beautiful and funny and c-“

Sadly, Liam got interrupted in his speech and Niall was slightly annoyed by it because he definitely had wanted to hear what else the brunette was going to say, but he was also really embarrassed because it was Liam’s mother. “Oh, sorry, am I interrupting?”

“It’s, uh, fine.” It probably wasn’t helping that Niall had to sniff in exactly that moment, not moving from his position though because there was no need to let Liam’s mom see his red blotchy and wet face. 

“I just wanted to let you know that we have people coming over in a few hours, but it’s alright if you two stay up here and I can tell them you’ve gone out. Unless you wanna join.” Fuck, Niall hadn’t even considered these sort of things yet, he had only been here for a weekend and he was already kinda interrupting their lives.

“Not really. When are they coming?” Liam was still rubbing Niall’s back while talking to his mom and Niall was kinda hoping that she thought he was asleep though that seemed kinda impossible seeing as he she had surely heard him before.

“In two hours or something, I’ll let someone bring you dinner up here.” Right, this was something Niall would never get used to, the fact that Liam’s parents had employed people to work in the house and before when he had been here, Liam had always made sure that everyone was gone, but now… “Everything okay?”

“Yeah, we’re okay. Thanks, mom.” Liam was clearly trying to get her to leave them alone but Niall still thought it was very nice of her to ask. Why exactly did everyone have nice parents except for him? 

“Okay. Watson has been sitting in front of your door for at least an hour, can I let him in?” The brunette must have nodded because Niall could hear his dog coming into the room and almost immediately jumping onto the bed before the door was closed again and Niall felt some sniffing near his ear.

“Watson, get off him, c’mon… sorry for that, babe.” Liam genuinely apologized for that now, making Niall feel even guiltier for acting this way it’s just… everything was a bit overwhelming at the moment. 

“’s fine… “ Nothing was fine right now and Niall had a hard time believing that anything ever would be fine again even though Liam seemed to believe it. Or maybe he was just trying to make Niall feel better, but even if that was the case, the blonde still appreciated it because one thing Liam had said was true, they still had each other no matter what and that was already a lot more than a lot of people could say. “I’m sorry for my mood swings and for being so hysterical.”

“You don’t need to apologize, Nialler, and you’re not being hysterical, I get it. I mean, I don’t as much as you do, but… I know all of this is shit and it really sucks and it seems like we’re in a bad movie sometimes, but… we can only try to make the best of it if we can’t change it. And if you need to cry that’s alright, just let it all out.” Niall already felt like he had had run out of tears though because it was kinda hard to feel hopeless with Liam being here and saying these things. The blonde clearly did not deserve him but he refrained from saying that out loud again.

“I think I’m done crying.” The blonde mumbled into Liam’s neck before pushing himself up a bit so they could look at each other though he probably looked quite terrible. “I love you.”

“I love you too, baby.” It had immediately made Liam smile as he was attempting to softly dry the blonde’s cheeks and Niall found himself relaxing under the older’s touch, leaning into his palm when Liam was cupping his face. “Did you get your homework done?”

“No. Did you get done studying?” This was an unnecessary question, but Niall still asked it anyways just because he was glad they had changed the topic. He went from wanting to rant about it to ignoring the problem really quickly since last Friday.

“No. But I’d say we already did enough school work today.” No idea what Liam was implying here, but the blonde was definitely on board with anything.

“We only tried for 40 minutes.” Maybe even less, considering Niall literally only had 200 words down and he still needed 400 more for his essay but like… how would he have written them when he couldn’t even think straight? 

“That’s 40 minutes more than I planned on.” Liam said it was if he really meant it though both of them were actually not doing bad at uni and had also invested quite some time before they had started hanging out. “I’d be up for a quick biology lesson though.”

“Oh my god, I can’t believe you just said that.” It did almost make Niall laugh though, but he tried to make Liam think he was genuinely shocked though the brunette just chuckled anyways. “That is literally the worst joke ever.”

“You say that about all my jokes.” The brunette tried to look hurt, but he was obviously having a hard time trying not to smirk so Niall didn’t feel too bad for him, simply rolling his eyes.

“Yeah, maybe you should really reflect on that.” The thing was, Liam’s jokes REALLY were bad, but they still made Niall laugh because the other boy was just so cute and he’d always crack himself up and it was Niall’s favorite thing ever, but not when he was pretending not to be amused. 

“Okay, wow, I thought you would be supportive since you’re my boyfriend, but I see how it is… “ He was shaking his head slowly, now finally having managed to wipe the grin off of his face but Niall saw the corners of his mouth twitching when he leaned down to kiss the brunette and Liam turned his head away, pretending to be upset. “You can’t just have me for my amazing looks, Nialler.”

“Shit, you should have said that sooner, I wouldn’t have wasted all my time.” It was so Liam to talk about his own looks though he genuinely seemed to not believe that he was as good looking as he was and sometimes it made Niall kinda eager to get him to believe it but then again… it was the same the other way around. And Niall was definitely nowhere near as attractive as Liam. 

“That’s just rude, babe, I think I need some space.” He was gently trying to get Niall to move off of him, not really pushing him though and the blonde couldn’t help but laugh when Liam probably not so accidentally poked him in the ribs. “Maybe I’ll find someone else to practice biology with.”

“The more you say it, the worse it gets.” Maybe that was exactly why he had done it, because he had known it’d make Niall groan and the blonde rolled off of his boyfriend, not surprised though when Liam pulled him back in immediately, laughing at his face.

“You’d be so bored without me.” True, even if Liam was saying it as a joke right now. 

“You wouldn’t be bored without me though, would you? You could just listen to your own jokes all day because you’re the only one who is entertained by them anyways.” Maybe Niall should have been expecting it teasing Liam like that and especially because of their position they were lying in, but he still wasn’t prepared when the older boy started tickling him like crazy.

Niall had tried to do the same to the older boy but it hadn’t worked at all and he seemed to simply not be ticklish at all while Niall was already squirming and laughing after two seconds. He tried to get away from Liam but the brunette simply ended up straddling his hips and the blonde kinda wanted him to stop but not really because he kinda enjoyed Liam holding his wrists, clearly being way stronger than the blonde.

He never took it too far though, also not this time because they kinda ended up kissing heatedly with Liam still on top of the blonde and Niall would have really gotten into it, up to do anything at all right now especially after his little breakdown, except that they kinda got interrupted once more. One of the servants Liam’s parents had employed did knock on the door probably, but neither of them had hear him, so he just kinda stumbled into the room with them making out on the bed and it was… embarrassing, to say the least.

“Oh, I’m very sorry.” He did look sorry, actually, and Niall felt his face heating up, his lips still tingling as he watched Liam getting out of the bed with completely messed up hair and his sweatpants riding way too low as he walked over to take the food his mother had promised them.

“No problem. Thanks for bringing it up.” Liam didn’t usually eat in his room, Niall knew that of course, so he was really surprised that she had basically suggested they should eat up here. Then again, she probably wouldn’t have wanted to explain why Niall was here or who he was. 

As soon as they were alone again, Niall couldn’t help but burst out laughing for some reason and Liam joined when he came back to the bed with two plates and the blonde felt like maybe this should have been weird, but he was actually enjoying it. Like, being around Liam’s parents was a bit uncomfortable and something Niall would have probably not gotten used to even in a month, but like, who even knew what could have happened in a month? Considering everything else going on.

It was rather nice, eating in Liam’s bed and watching some Netflix and Niall managed to forget about what was going on for a while. Like, of course it was still in the back of his mind pretty much every single second and he was kinda itching to go to that town but the longer he thought about, the more did he realize that it probably wasn’t a good idea. 

Then again, Niall just couldn’t not do anything, could he? Like, he needed some answers, he just didn’t know how to get any.

 

\-------------------

 

“Niall?” Liam was pretty sure he had been asleep a second ago before suddenly having been woken up by something, his arms immediately tightening around the younger boy to make sure he was still there, cuddling closer into him.

“I’m here.” Niall didn’t sound sleepy at all as far as Liam could tell and the brunette kinda just wanted to go back asleep, but it was weird that Niall was still awake seeing as they had gone to bed rather late anyways and Liam hadn’t been able to fall asleep right away either. And who knows, he might have been for only five minutes anyways.

“You okay?” The brunette made sure to check, trying to wake up a little bit more but it was kinda hard because he was tired as hell and Niall was so comfortable that Liam never wanted to move again if he was being quite honest.

“Yeah… go back to sleep, Li.” The blonde was stroking his arm that Liam had wrapped around his stomach, his face pressed into the younger’s neck, which actually wasn’t the position they had gone to sleep in, but Liam definitely wasn’t complaining.

For a moment, Liam considered it, but everything going on actually made him worried that Niall would just be lying awake all night long, so he forced himself to lift his head a bit, blindly searching for the younger’s lips in complete darkness, kissing him softly. “Do you wanna talk about it?”

There was a moment of silence and Niall tightened his arm around Liam. “I don’t know… there’s nothing to talk about anymore I guess.”

“Do you wanna do something else then?” Liam was slowly starting to feel more awake and of course he would have done anything to make Niall feel better even if that meant having to get out of bed right now. “To take your mind off?”

“Hm, no, it’s okay. I know you’re tired… I’m fine, Li, I promise.” He didn’t really sound like it, but Liam put his head down again, just to rest it a little bit, not because he was planning on falling back asleep. “Sleep.”

“No, I already did, I can stay awake with you and we can just talk, okay?” Liam was trying to sound convincing here, but he wasn’t sure if it really came across like that though he was determined not to fall back asleep before the blonde. “What do you want for breakfast tomorrow?”

“I… don’t know. Whatever you want.” Niall sounded surprised by that question, he was now drawing patterns on Liam’s bare back and the brunette felt himself shivering a bit because of the younger’s soft touches. Despite the reason why Niall was here, Liam was loving the fact that they got to go to sleep together every day now and wake up together, not having to hide, eat together and just… do all those things he had wanted to do for so long. If only it could have been under nicer circumstances. “I feel kinda bad that… you know, that your parents are giving me food all the time, I mean-“

“Don’t feel bad about it, okay? They would have never offered any of that if they actually minded and I can tell that they like you and I’m not just saying that. They’re not innocent in this whole thing and… we’ve got so much food at home and my parents have so many people coming over to eat with us all the time, it really doesn’t matter. I promise, Nialler.” Liam hated that Niall had to feel this way and he really got it, but no matter how many times he told the blonde that it was all good, Niall still worried. 

“Okay… but you’d tell me if your parents said anything to you, right? Like, if they want me to leave or something. And if I have a job, I could pay for my own food.” He probably could, but Liam would have never let him and they both knew it. Niall had had to give money to his parents ever since he had been old enough to work and Liam knew that they had actually stolen from him as well and he never wanted the blonde to have so little money anymore just because his parents had screwed up his whole life.

“Niall, I promise it’s alright. My parents would never accept that anyways and… “ Right, this was the part where Liam wasn’t sure whether he should have just said it like that, now, in the middle of the night, but seeing as they probably weren’t going to sleep anytime soon... “I was thinking, you know… I’ve been wanting to move out for like, a while and… now that all this happened, like… I wasn’t planning on just telling you like this now, but… I kinda had this idea about you and me moving in together and if you think it’s too soon then I completely get it and I won’t be mad, I promise.”

“I… “ Niall started and Liam thought it was a bad sign that he kinda stopped all of a sudden, but then luckily, the blonde suddenly sounded more than eager to make it reality. “You’ve got no idea how many times I was imaging that ever since we got together.”

“Yeah?” Liam felt a smile spreading on his face, kinda wishing he could have seen Niall’s right now, but it was enough to feel the blonde’s arms tightening and his lips pressed against the older’s head. 

“Yeah, of course, I… there’s nothing I’d rather do, but, uh… I don’t have a lot of money saved and-“

“Ni, this is not about money, okay? I really want us to live together and I’ve been thinking about it for a while now and I would have moved out at some point anyways, so you don’t have to worry about anything, okay? I mean, obviously we can’t just move out over night but… I’ve been wanting to talk to you about it for a while and now that my parents know about us… “ Now Liam could finally make it reality.

“Yeah, I’d love that, I mean, obviously, and I don’t care if we haven’t been together for that long because it feels like it anyways. I couldn’t even imagine not knowing you anymore.” Niall sounded very excited all of a sudden and Liam felt himself put at ease, happiness spreading in his stomach because them both wanting to be with each equally as desperately was the best feeling ever. “I just hope you won’t grow tired of me then, I mean, we’re not used to being able to spend so much time together.”

“Ni, honestly, it’s impossible to grow tired of you. And especially since we weren’t able to spend that much time together before, it’s even better now. At least that’s how I feel.” Liam slowly lifted his head again, kinda missing Niall’s mouth and instead kissing his cheek but that was fine as well.

“I feel the same… “ The blonde mumbled, giving Liam a very unexpected kiss in complete darkness before chuckling against the older’s lips. “Then we can finally have sex anywhere other than the bed or the shower.”

“You… where exactly do you wanna have sex, then?” Liam almost couldn’t believe the blonde had just said that, but the younger boy was now just laughing, still having sounded somewhat serious though. 

“I don’t know, wherever works I guess.” Though he had no idea whether he was being serious or not, Liam was suddenly definitely imaging the possibilities. “You know what we have never done? Have sex in your car.”

“We could have done that literally every night.” They definitely could have though Liam wasn’t sure if it would have been very comfortable but if Niall wanted to he’d give it a go without thinking about it. “Where does your sudden desire to try all this come from?”

“I don’t know, I was imaging us living together all by ourselves and it was just the first thing that came to my mind, I mean… we mostly spent time together in my room or in here and barely ever anywhere else.” That was true, actually, although they had driven to the next city of course and had been downstairs when Liam’s parents had been gone for a while, but they had spent the most time in their rooms, mostly having had to be quiet as well. “You know… I feel like your mom walking in on us was actually the best thing that could have ever happened to us.”

“I mean… it definitely didn’t make things worse.” Then again, Liam would have preferred to tell her somehow differently, but he knew he would have never had the guts to do it anyways and also, years might have passed until they would have found out the truth. Or maybe they never would have, who knew? And having Niall away from those people was definitely a relief to Liam, even more so now that he knew what they had done. “I’m still surprised that they both took it so well that I… that I like guys. I mean, I’ve been with other guys before and they still don’t know that.”

“I think it’s best you don’t tell them about that and we just ignore that it ever happened and pretend that I’m your first and only.” Niall did definitely sound a little bit jealous and Liam couldn’t help a fond laugh when he kinda turned them so he wasn’t on top of the blonde anymore, pulling the younger boy into his arms. 

“You’re the first one that really matters.” It was true, Liam wasn’t just saying it to make Niall happy, but at first he had ever only been with guys just to try it out kind of and he had had one a bit more serious relationship, but not like this and not for long because he had had to hide it as well obviously. “And I want you to be the last one.”

Niall stayed quiet for a moment and Liam was almost afraid he had said something wrong but the blonde didn’t move away or anything, actually, he seemed to cuddle more deeply into the brunette. “Me too… “

There was no guarantee obviously, that they would stay together for however long, but right in this moment, Liam liked to imagine that they would actually still be together in like, 50 years or something, and right now, he kinda felt like it was possible. 

 

\------------

 

“So what are we doing now?” It was Louis who asked the question and Liam kinda felt like telling him to be quiet, which he obviously didn’t though and instead just held on tighter to the blonde’s hand, not exactly surprised. 

The four hour drive had more turned into a five hour one and Liam was exhausted from having been the one driving the whole time with only one break, but he had told Niall he was fine whenever the blonde had suggested they stop for a bit, also because of Liam’s wrist. It was now 2 pm or something and they had gotten out of the questioned hospital, having received so little information that they might have as well been in the wrong town. 

Liam had kinda expected it to turn out exactly like this, but he had of course said yes when Niall had suggested a few days ago that they should come here on Saturday because he didn’t have work and Louis and Harry had come along also, both of them having slept in the back of the car for most of the ride. 

“We can go to my old house and I’m sure one of my old neighbors still lives in that street, maybe they can help.” Harry didn’t sound too motivated, but Liam appreciated his effort, especially because Niall seemed to be trying so hard not to be disappointed though he clearly was. This was exactly what Liam had been afraid of and the thing was, they had no plan B. “Or maybe the police station? But I think there are two, if I remember correctly.”

“But what would we say there? Niall can’t just walk in and say _hi, guys, I think my parents kidnapped me from here 20 years ago_.” Louis was right, but he probably shouldn’t have said it like that because Niall just rolled his eyes at him. “The thing at the hospital was really awkward already.”

“Um, okay, what should I have told them, then? I didn’t ask you to come, so why are you complaining now?” Niall was losing his patience, everyone could tell and maybe that was why Louis didn’t say anything back, maybe for the first time ever. “Maybe we should talk to your old neighbors, Haz… “

“Yeah, sure, ‘m sure they remember me, they all loved me when I was a kid.” Harry tried to lighten the mood a bit as they walk back to the car, and Liam made sure to hold Niall back for a second after the other two had already gotten inside.

“Hey… you okay?” Liam just needed to check, still holding Niall’s hand and brushing some hair out of his face before kissing his forehead. 

“Yeah, ‘m good… I just… it feels stupid now that we even came here.” Niall sounded a bit defeated and Liam really got it, he kinda felt the same though he had never been this hopeful to begin with, but the whole car ride long he had been able to tell just how fidgety and excited the blonde had been. 

“No, it’s not, hey, we haven’t even been here for longer than half an hour, okay?” Maybe Liam shouldn’t have been encouraging Niall, but what else would he have said? He had kinda already planned out what they could do once they got back home, just to make sure it would take Niall’s mind off. 

“I know…” Then Niall just let out a sigh, kissing Liam on the lips before pulling his hand out of the brunette’s and getting into the car as well, leaving Liam behind feeling a bit helpless.

It turned out that Harry had some trouble remembering where he had lived though he claimed it was Liam who had taken a wrong turn. He kept pointing things out on the way there, like his old school and stuff and Liam was glad that they had brought him because if nothing came out of this trip, at least Harry had gotten to visit his hometown. Liam knew that the younger boy hadn’t told his mother where they were or asked her anything about it, so Liam wondered whether he would have ever even come back here had it not been for this.

Also, he didn’t really wanna bring it up, but maybe Harry wanted to actually go and see the grave of his sibling and Liam decided to ask him later, once they had run out of options.

“That’s a big house.” Louis sounded impressed once they had stopped in front of it, just sitting in the car looking like they were spying on the people living in it now.

“Yeah… my grandparents owned it before they died, so… we didn’t actually have that much money.” Liam threw a glance at Harry in the backseat, not wanting to rush him or anything because it would have sounded quite rude. “There was this family that lived in that yellow house and I was friends with their kinds, but I have no idea if they still live there. I could go and read the name tag or something and maybe see if they’re home… I should probably go alone.”

“Want me to come?” Louis offered, but Harry declined before getting out of the car and Liam reached over to pull Niall’s hands away from his face, making sure he stopped biting his nails like he usually did whenever he was nervous. “I wonder what they’re thinking just randomly seeing Harry show up at their doorstep, asking those questions…”

“I don’t think they’re even home.” Niall was right, Harry had pressed the doorbell but no one had opened and Liam opened his door a bit to talk to Harry because he didn’t look like he was getting back into the car.

“There was no name tag and no one is home, but I can try another house.” Harry was probably the most motivated out of all of them and Liam just agreed, not knowing what else they should have done. 

This time, Harry walked away further and Liam didn’t really wanna move the car because they were probably behaving strangely enough anyways, but at least somebody seemed to have opened the door for him this time, some elderly looking lady, and Liam threw a side glance at Niall, noticing him having leaned forward a bit, as if they could hear them talking. Which they couldn’t obviously, but Louis was also sitting in the middle of the backseat now, clearly getting more excited when Harry actually entered the house after hugging the owner.

God, Liam wanted this to turn out well so badly, but like, even if Harry did find out something, it wouldn’t really change anything, would it? It was just highly unlikely and just considering they actually found out who Niall’s parents were… what would they have even done? What if they had moved away and no one knew where to? It would have just dragged Niall down even more.

Since Harry was gone for quite a while, Liam turned on the radio after a bit, allowing Louis to toy with it because they were all clearly bored. They did talk, but no one seemed to really know what to say and Niall took out his phone after a while, doing whatever. It was one of Liam’s old phones and Niall had had to get a new contract for it last week, but he had been so grateful for Liam giving it to him that the brunette had felt really bad. Like, he had always gotten phones from his parents when he had been younger and then upgraded models and he had just kept the old ones and like… Niall would have been broke buying a new one. 

“What do you think he’s doing in there? He’s been gone for like 30 minutes.” Louis seemed to slowly get impatient and Liam quite felt the same, especially because he had no idea what they would do if Harry came back with no information.

“Probably doing some catching up with her.” Niall didn’t sound too happy about that possibility actually and Liam wanted to reach out for him but he didn’t wanna annoy the blonde. “She looked kinda old, maybe she doesn’t know what he’s talking about or she doesn’t remember, I just hope he comes back soon.”

“What are we gonna do if he doesn’t find out anything?” Louis really did have a thing for saying the stuff out loud that no one wanted to talk about, didn’t he? “Do you actually wanna go talk to the police? Maybe it’d be a good idea even if it’d be awkward as hell.”

“I don’t know, they probably won’t even take me serious anyways, I’m actually doubting whether I really used to live here before, I mean… all this feels a bit like a bad crime show.” It really did, but the laugh Niall let out didn’t sound amused at all and Liam suddenly wished they had stayed home. Coming here had only made things worse for the blonde and it was killing Liam, they should have rather talked to his parents again, maybe asked them whether they would consider going to the police, but they probably would have said no anyways. Plus, they might have even tried keeping them from coming here as well. 

“Maybe it’s not even true. Although, your parents really are fucking strange.” No idea if Louis was making it better or worse, Liam just threw worried glances at Niall once a while, at the same time trying to keep an eye on the door of the house Harry had gone into. Not that Liam thought something had happened to him, but like, how would he have known? 

“They’re not my parents.” Was all Niall said to that, sounding kind of bitter, but his facial expression wasn’t upset or anything and Liam felt like this was the time for him to speak up. Or maybe not.

“Maybe we-“

“He’s coming back.” Louis interrupted Liam, but none of them was too mad about that and Liam could literally feel the tension in the car though he was trying not to make himself too many hopes, worried about the fact that Niall clearly was though.

Harry didn’t look too disappointed or anything, actually, Liam had no idea what to expect when the boy came closer, not looking at any of them through the widow though before he got into the back seat with Louis once more, not even allowing any of them to say a word or ask a question.

“We need to drive somewhere.” Okay, well, this didn’t sound like he hadn’t found out anything, did it?

“Um, okay, where?” Liam had already started the engine, throwing a look at Niall though to wordlessly tell him to put on his seatbelt again and the blonde rolled his eyes, but he still did it. 

“I’ll describe the way to you, just drive straight ahead for now.” Harry sounded kinda freaked out, but Liam couldn’t really look at him while he was doing what he had been told. 

“Why? What happened?” Of course Louis was pushing further and Niall was also turning around in his seat to look at Harry and Liam couldn’t even blame them. Maybe it was sad, that they were all so desperate to find out _something_ and to go somewhere that they were all visibly getting excited.

“I, uh, I’d rather not talk about it right now before we get there, but… that woman used to babysit me a lot when I was younger, and we did some catching up and then I asked her about… you know, whether she knows if a child has ever been abducted in that year and she was super freaked out and anyways, uh… she said something really weird.” Right, now Liam was getting even more curious and he could tell Niall was about to burst.

“What did she say?” The blonde asked almost immediately in the one second Harry wasn’t talking and it was obvious the other boy didn’t really wanna say it out loud but then he sighed and gave Niall what he wanted.

“She said, yes, there was a case, in that year around that time you told me, but… she said the baby is dead.” Right, that was another weird coincidence, but it wasn’t really helpful, was it? 

“So where are we going then?” Louis sounded disappointed somehow while Liam actually felt really sick. All they were talking about since a week or something was death of kids and abduction and being here in this town after all this didn’t feel too comforting. 

“You’ll see, I… I need to check something.” And that was all Harry said pretty much though the other two kept bombing him with questions and Liam tried not to get too distracted while listening to the directions Harry was giving him once a while.

It wasn’t a long drive at all though it kinda felt like it and Liam got worried once they kinda left town a little bit, but even more worried once he realized where they were going. And so did everyone else as he stopped the car. 

“What the hell, why are we going to the cemetery? We are not really looking for the grave of that child, right? Harry?” Maybe for the first time ever since Liam had met him, Louis seemed to not have something funny or sarcastic to add and instead sounded kind of scared.

“We kinda are.” What?! 

“Why? Haz, what’s going on, seriously? Is she some crazy old woman, who-“

“She’s not crazy, Lou. I just need to check something, I told you.” And then he had gotten out of the car, seemingly in a hurry and Liam barely had any time to get out as well and lock the car because Louis and Niall had been rather quick to run after the youngest boy.

Niall did wait for Liam though after a few steps and maybe it was inappropriate but Liam still threw him a smile when he intertwined their fingers as Niall stretched his arm out towards him. Somehow, the brunette had an idea where this might be leading to, but he couldn’t tell the blonde when there was a possibility it might have been something completely different.

“I’ve never been to a cemetery…” The blonde mumbled after a moment, Harry and Louis kind of in from of them and the fact that Harry seemed to not know where he was going only confirmed Liam’s suspicions. “I wonder what else she told Harry, he’s like… so eager.”

“Yeah, I don’t know… I guess we’ll have to see what he wants to check on. But he must have found out something interesting.” Hopefully, because Liam had no idea what else to do.

It seemed like they had to walk across that whole cemetery before Harry finally stopped and Niall and Liam had been a few steps behind, so when they arrived, they just found both Harry and Louis staring at a grave and Liam didn’t actually need to look twice before he knew why they had come and why no one was saying anything.

“Why does it only have one date on it?” Niall was the one who spoke up first, probably because he was the only one who didn’t know Harry’s birthday and maybe also not the year and Liam wasn’t sure if he should have answered because he felt short of breath all of a sudden.

“It’s… it’s the birth date. They don’t know when… “ Harry started, suddenly looking at Niall with a really weird expression, as if he wanted to give him a moment before dropping the bomb. “Niall…?”

“Uh, yes?” The blonde was clearly confused and Liam squeezed his fingers, not quite able to process any of this yet. He had seen a picture of that grave before, at Harry’s house, but the date and the name written on it had been unreadable because it had been taken from further away and apparently, Harry had never been here before. 

“I think that… I mean, I’m certain that… your real parents think you died.” Right, Harry wasn’t being the most sensible about it right now, but they were all clearly shocked so Liam knew why he couldn’t just say it. 

“What? You’re saying that’s literally my grave? How… how would we know though? Didn’t she tell you the baby died? Maybe it really did.” Okay, literally, if Harry didn’t tell Niall now then Liam would because he couldn’t watch any longer.

“Niall, she… she told me that… that it was _my_ mother whose child was abducted and-“

“What?! But you said… you said it died at the hospital and also, we… we’re not born nine months apart, that makes no sense. Also, it says a completely different last name on it.” Niall would have pulled his hand away had Liam not been holding it so tightly, wanting to pull the blonde into his arms because he was clearly losing it, even looking at the brunette for help and Liam already had his mouth open to say something when Harry finally did.

“She got divorced, my mom, after she… that date on there is my birthday, Niall. And it’s my old last name and… my mom lied to me about her lost baby, she’s never taken me here and I just had to convince my old neighbor pretty long to get her to tell me and I didn’t believe it but… “ But there they had the proof.

“I… what? Are you saying that… that we’re… _twins?!_ ” Hearing Niall say it actually gave Liam goosebumps, he couldn’t believe that this was happening, that this was the solution to all of it because Louis had literally suggested it a few days ago and just… all those coincidences, of Harry and his mother moving exactly where Niall lived as well and them all knowing each other… it was a bit much. 

“I think we are… non-identical obviously, but… what other explanation is there?” There was no other, they all knew it and no one knew what to say after this because this was just insane, literally, Liam almost felt a need to pinch himself. “I can’t believe this… my mom felt so bad all those years and she was so protective of me, she thought you’re dead and in reality…”

“In reality he’s literally your boyfriend’s best friend.” Louis threw in but it didn’t really sound like a joke at all, rather as if he couldn’t believe he was saying that. And Liam couldn’t believe it either because the fucking odds… “This is like… fate or some shit.”

“But… “ Niall started, clearly having needed some time to let it all sink in and honestly, Liam wasn’t sure if it ever fully would. “How can we be sure? I could have been taken from somewhere completely different, even if the timeline is kinda right, it could still all just be another coincidence.”

“The timeline isn’t just _kinda_ right, it was September, right? And you thought your birthday is on the 13th and they brought you home about a week later, and my neighbor literally told me it was the 20th, because she remembers it so well. She… she used to babysit… us. She was good friends with mom.” It was weird hearing Harry talk like that, about him and Niall being brothers but somehow Liam really hoped that this was the truth, because honestly… what more could they have hoped for? “We should get checked, like, at a hospital, to see if we’re related.” 

“Yeah, uh… probably.” The blonde didn’t sound overly excited, his hand having kinda gone limp in Liam’s hand and the brunette squeezed it in an attempt to maybe show Niall that he was here and that it was fine, but really, none of them had genuinely expected to find out anything at all and now THIS. “So… that’s my, like, real name? James?”

“Ironic because it’s also Liam’s 2nd name.” Right, Louis seemed to be the only who wasn’t completely lost in thoughts though he surely looked a bit pale, all of them just standing there, not knowing what to do or what to say. 

“I mean… your real name is Niall, right? You don’t need to change it or anything.” Liam said it because he wasn’t sure if that was what Niall’s trail of thought had been but he himself would have thought about that first.

“I guess… also I’m not even 20.” True, Harry’s birthday was a few months away but not too far and maybe it was the most stupid thing in the entire world but Liam suddenly stressed out over having less time to buy Niall something for his birthday. Then again… maybe Niall wouldn’t have wanted them to celebrate his birthday on a different date? Or maybe none of this was true after all although there was too much coincidence for it to not be true. “Really shows you’ve only got one taste in friends, Lou.”

“You guys aren’t alike at _all_. Harry is nowhere near as stubborn as you.” It was strange to hear them joking around but Liam was still amused while at the same time trying to think about what to do next, a bit distracted when Niall leaned into him. 

They all stayed quiet for a moment, maybe a minute but it felt way longer and when Harry spoke up again, Liam felt a bit more grounded, a bit more like maybe he could believe all this was real if he tried long enough. “I need to tell my mom. I mean… not now, only after we know for sure but… I can’t even imagine her reaction.”

After he had said that, Liam felt Niall stiffening up a bit against him and he threw a look at the blonde, kinda knowing what was going through his mind without having to ask. Niall had been so eager to find his parents and he had been so nervous about it all and now it turned out that he already knew them, or at least his mother. Liam really felt for Niall, but he knew there was nothing he could have said to make it better, so instead he pulled the blonde into a hug after a while of them still standing there, just holding him, and judging by how tightly the blonde hugged him, he really needed it right now.

 

\------------------

 

“I don’t think I’ve ever been this nervous before, feel my pulse.” Niall took a hold of Liam’s hand, putting it against the side of his neck where he could literally feel his heart beating, the brunette’s touch giving him goosebumps as he rubbed his thumb across the younger’s skin. 

“It’ll be okay, Nialler.” Liam smiled, his hand moving to the back of Niall’s head to pull him in so he could kiss his forehead and Niall just let himself fall into the brunette, craving his touch anywhere he could possibly have it. “I don’t think there’s a reason to be nervous, I think we all know what’s going on.”

“Yeah, but there’s a possibility we’re wrong. Also, if we’re right then what’s gonna happen next? I don’t even know yet if Greg has already found out that we’re together.” Well, they weren’t hiding it anymore, but it seemed as if Niall’s brother hadn’t been at uni at all anymore since that incident. It was Wednesday now and Niall had been nervous about all this since Saturday and then another wave had hit him on Monday when he and Harry had gone to the hospital together, but they would only get the results today and it was nerve wrecking to say the least.

“Do you think that maybe they left town? I mean, maybe they kinda have a suspicion that you know and they decided to just… run away?” It was definitely possible, Niall and Liam had pretty much discussed every single option over the last few days, also with Liam’s parents, who had promised to keep quiet about Niall and Harry possibly being related though they had seemed really surprised and shocked. Much like Niall still felt. 

“They might have... I kinda wanna talk to them about it, and don’t freak out, I don’t mean to forgive them or anything, I just really wanna know, like, what the hell they were thinking.” Because Niall honestly had no idea why they had felt the need to kidnap him, they had clearly never wanted him, had they? At least they had never shown it. 

“I don’t think they’d tell you, I think they will deny everything for as long as somehow possible… this will get them sent to jail. I’m not sure if… if I want you to talk to them ever again, not that it’s my decision, but… I’d feel a lot better if you stayed as far away as possible.” Liam wasn’t a control freak, but Niall knew where he was coming from and he wasn’t actually planning on talking to them, he had just been thinking about it. 

“I don’t think I’d survive a conversation with either of them anyways.” Mostly because Niall would be murdered ever going to that house again. “It’s weird though… they did something so terrible and yet… and yet they’re the reason we met. And Harry and Louis. Harry’s mother might have never left town if it hadn’t happened.”

“Yeah… she really suffered though and she still does, I… I’m not saying I would have rather things were different, but it did more damage than it did good.” Because they were literally standing around outside the hospital waiting for Louis and Harry, Niall thought maybe Liam would pull away when people walked past, but it seemed as if he only held on tighter so the blonde relaxed more in his boyfriend’s arms, letting his eyes fall closed as he pressed his face against Liam’s neck, breathing him in.

“What am I even gonna say to her if it all turns out to be true? I mean… maybe she doesn’t believe us.” There was a great possibility she would think it was a joke at first, a really terrible one, and Niall could only imagine how Harry had been feeling these past few days not being able to say a word to her, just in case, so he wouldn’t cause her even more pain. Niall had been texting and talking to Harry quite a bit since Saturday, about what they were gonna to if they were indeed brothers but also other things and the blonde could tell just how much Harry wanted it all to be true and it was hard for Niall not to wish the same. Still, he tried to keep his hopes as low as possible, just to be sure. 

“She will, if it’s all true, and my parents offered to talk to her as well. I don’t think that you have to say much, babe, I think she’s just gonna be so happy to hear all this that there won’t be a need to really talk about it, I mean… she thought you’re dead for so many years and then suddenly you’re not.” Liam sounded a bit as if he couldn’t believe it himself and Niall felt quite the same, there was no way he would be able to put himself into Harry’s mom’s shoes, or… _his_ mother’s shoes. “I see Harry and Louis.”

“Hmmm… “ Niall made as he pulled away from Liam, not really wanting to but at least he received a kiss on the lips as soon as they were looking at each other and Liam brushed some hair out of his forehead, offering a warm smile that he reserved for only Niall. 

“I love you so much and no matter what happens today, everything is going to be okay, I promise. Even if you’re not Harry’s brother, we’ll still keep on searching anyways, okay? But I’m sure it’ll be fine, baby.” Liam was so sweet, he always only had words of support for Niall and the blonde never had had any doubt that maybe the brunette was just saying them to him in order to calm him down because whenever it mattered, Liam was right there. 

“I love you too and it’s okay… no matter what happens, I’ve got you and you’re the best family I ever had.” Once Niall had said it, Liam’s face changed a bit and it seemed like he wanted to say something, but then he kinda got interrupted by Harry and Louis reaching them. Judging by the way he kissed Niall’s temple once more, keeping his arm around him even when Niall went to hug both Harry and Louis, the former a bit longer, he hadn’t been unhappy about Niall’s words. They were true after all.

Niall really thought his nerves were getting the better of him once they had gone inside and he actually started feeling slightly embarrassed thinking about all the hospital stories he now had from only the past few days after never having been there in his entire life. They had no normal doctor other than a dentist around here, so there really was nowhere else to go and the very worst part was, everyone already seemed to know them.

Of course, Niall and Harry asking to be DNA tested had come with a ton of questions a few days ago, but they had made up some story because if all this turned out false then they really didn’t wanna have to explain themselves even further. Also, Niall couldn’t just run around and tell everyone he had been kidnapped as a baby, could he?

“Are you nervous?” Harry and Niall were alone, just waiting for someone to come and tell them the result and Louis and Liam were out in the hallway though Niall kinda wished Liam was right here instead. He had definitely hugged the blonde way longer than necessary outside and yet it hadn’t felt like it was enough, it never did with Liam, no matter if they spent all day lying in bed cuddling, Niall would go to the bathroom for a second and already miss him.

“I’ve never been this nervous… you?” At least Harry was here and at least he was going through the exact same thing, that was the only thing calming Niall right now. If this turned out bad, both of them would definitely need some time to deal with it. 

“Me neither. I could barely sleep last night.” Hearing Harry admit that somehow made Niall feel a bit calmer though he hadn’t been able to sleep that well either, but Liam had made sure to keep him distracted and eventually make him tired enough to sleep. “I still can’t believe we’re actually here now and that all of this turned out like this, I mean… it sounds made up.”

“Kinda, yeah… especially the part where I might have a brother that doesn’t wanna kill me in my sleep.” Niall tried lightening the mood a bit and it seemed to work because they both let out a laugh and yet Harry kinda topped him.

“You’d also have a sister.” True, that was another part Niall was freaked out about, Harry had an older sister and he also had a dad somewhere but they hadn’t really talked about it that much yet, not knowing whether there was a need to. “I really want you to be my brother, you know.”

“I-“

Before Niall could say anything else, his face kinda blushed now, a woman walked in with some papers in her hands, the same doctor that they had talked to a few days ago and Niall felt his body tense up when she sat down across the desk after shaking their hands, her facial expression unreadable. Then again, she probably didn’t even care.

“So, boys, you were here because… right, the DNA test. I just only got the results, but it seems like… “ And then she stopped talking for a second, looking through the papers and Niall suddenly felt pretty fucking dizzy. This was it, literally, this was the moment, and somehow Niall felt as if there was no way that they were related now, that all this was just weird for no reason and- “You’re 100% siblings, no doubt in those results, especially since you told me you’re twins. I’ll give you these and you can take them with you, any questions?”

“Uh, no?” It was Harry who spoke up, Niall was literally just sitting there with a dropped jaw, not even knowing what to think or do at this point. They were fucking related, they had known each other for quite some time now and Niall had been avoiding Harry only for it to turn out that… the he was his _twin_.

“Great, I’m so sorry I need to cut this short, I have a patient.” And then she just basically left again, left them sitting there in her office all by themselves and before Niall even knew it, they had both gotten up and Harry was hugging Niall even tighter than Liam had outside, seemingly so happy about this that the blonde couldn’t keep himself from crying.

Things couldn’t have been better.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi guys!!! 
> 
> im so happy to have finally revealed it all, ive had to hold it in for weeks haha, i hope you enjoyed the chapter :) i know this sounds like an ending, but i am going to add one final chapter next week to round things off, kinda like an epilogue that deals with the aftermath and focuses more on niall and liams future as a couple!
> 
> furthermore, i dont know if ill immediately start a new fic, but i already got a few ideas in mind and im just going to last the topics now and maybe you guys could tell me which one you like best? im not promising i will write it for sure though bc i always come up with different stuff when im not planning on it haha.  
> okay so we have a Soulmate AU, an AU where they are step-brother, an Apocalypse AU (which i know no one will want lmao), Alpha/Beta/Omega AU, or also a Single Dad AU, i've never written any of that except for the last so it could potentially become interesting (i hope!) 
> 
> im also always open for suggestions etc, and i definitely wanna write a few oneshots as well bc those long fics take ages haha


	18. Epilogue

“Seriously, Tommo? It’s the 23rd, when exactly were you planning on going out to buy presents?” Niall couldn’t actually believe it, just thinking about his best friend being so far behind with buying presents for Christmas was freaking him the hell out. Even more so than holding a phone with one hand and pushing a shopping cart with the other. “Harry got you the best present ever, but no pressure.”

“My god, can you stop saying that? I don’t need you to patronize me, Nialler, I’m 28, I think I can handle myself.” Louis groaned, as if he hadn’t brought the topic up himself and Niall rolled his eyes, already having forgotten what he had been planning on buying or what aisle he was even on. 

“Well, clearly you can’t. You almost forgot his birthday as well.” And Niall’s along with it obviously, but that hadn’t been that big of a deal compared to Harry’s of course.

“I did _not_. Anyways, why are you so concerned what I’m getting _my_ husband, huh? What are you getting Liam?” The thing was, he actually sounded serious asking the last question and Niall rolled his eyes, not saying anything though because he and Liam had agreed on a no present rule this year and if he had told Louis, the other man would have surely gotten onto his nerves. 

“Why? Do you wanna steal my ideas? You know we’re literally leaving tomorrow, right? There are no shops anywhere near that house.” While talking, Niall stopped at a shelf, contemplating whether to buy cereal and save himself some trouble tomorrow morning or not, at the same time trying to keep a pair of toddler hands reaching for every box in sight. “Hold on… baby, we can’t buy those.”

“Why?” It was hard saying no to the face of his son, his brown eyes and those long lashes and sometimes Niall did give in, but not today because they were in a hurry.

“Because we already have enough of that at home, okay? And we’re going to be away for a while and stay with granny and grandpa and-“

“Can we get this, daddy?” Right, Niall hadn’t paid attention to his daughter for one second and she had already strolled off, coming back with a bag of dog food. The blonde would have made her sit in the trolley next to her brother to prevent this from happening, but she had insisted on walking and it had worked for quite a while. They were both well behaved, but shopping was a literal nightmare.

“Watson has enough at home, love.” Niall didn’t even wanna think about getting in the car tomorrow with all those presents and two children and a giant dog AND their bags, but Liam had assured him that it would all work out just fine. If only Liam’s parents hadn’t rented a giant cabin for all of them to spend Christmas in, the blonde’s life would have been a lot easier.

“Do you want me to hang up?” Louis was just laughing in the phone, amused by Niall’s struggle and the younger man sighed, watching his daughter putting back the bag of dog food without complaints and making sure she came back before continuing to push the cart. 

“It’s fine, I’m just… stressed out. So when are you gonna buy presents? The stores will close in a few hours and we’re leaving tomorrow morning.” Liam’s parents had invited Harry and Louis to come, plus Niall’s and Harry’s mother, and Niall had kinda been afraid they would also invite Louis’ entire family and they had suggested it, but the house would have definitely been a bit too full then. Plus, Louis’ parents had immediately declined, so at least Niall only had to worry about presents for six children, including his niece and nephews on Liam’s side.

“I’m picking Noah up from kindergarten in an hour and then we’ll go… why are your kids not there anyways?” Good question.

“I let them stay home because they both have a cold after staying over at your house and playing in the snow without jackets.” Sadly, this was true, though Niall wasn’t sure if it was the reason for their colds.

“It was two minutes before I caught them, Niall. Two minutes. Anyways, the reason I actually called was… do we need to bring anything? Like… food?” Maybe Niall would have found it funny that Louis was asking this, but then again, he didn’t know Liam’s parents like the blonde did.

“No, just your own things. There’ll be enough food there, I can promise that.” And a lot of other things, like the most giant tree Niall had ever seen, but he wasn’t the one decorating it so that was alright. “We’re leaving at 10, is that alright?”

“I guess so… did you tell your mom? Or no, wait, I was gonna call her now anyways, maybe she knows what I could get Harry.” This had Niall rolling his eyes, but he decided not to comment it this time, wishing Louis good luck before finally ending the call, just in time for him to stop his daughter from running off yet again.

After another 10 minutes of this, Niall decided to make her squeeze into the cart with her brother. It didn’t work as well as it had a while back because they were both 4 now and growing up, but they barely ever fought and got along well, so at least they didn’t seem to mind. The reason why Niall was even in the store was because he had realized they had zero food at home for tonight or tomorrow morning or for tomorrow in the car when the kids would be crying about finally wanting to arrive. Plus, they had cleaned the house yesterday for when they’d come back after new year and not having the kids inside the house limited the chances of new messes.

“Daddy, did you know that Noah thinks Santa is real? He even wrote a letter.” When Oliver spoke up, Niall actually wanted to let out a sigh, but he held back of course, a little bit worried that this was going to become a problem this year.

“Yeah, but remember what we said? That we can’t tell any of your cousins no matter what?” No idea how the twins had figured out Santa wasn’t real, Liam and Niall surely had tried hard being all secretive around Christmas, but a few weeks ago the kids had suddenly both claimed that they didn’t want to write a letter because they knew that their daddies got all the presents anyways. So yeah, there was that. “It’s a secret, can I trust you guys not to say anything?”

They both nodded of course, very serious, but Niall was still a bit worried, maybe he should have warned Louis and Harry, but then again, not like that would change anything. “I told my friend that Santa isn’t real and she started crying.”

“I know, Isla, that wasn’t very nice and we already talked about it. You don’t wanna make your friends sad, do you?” Niall had finally gotten to the last aisle, simply throwing some candy into the cart while the kids were thrilled at his choice, but he needed something to bribe them with tomorrow in the car. 

“No… I wanna get a present for uncle Harry.” The change of topic wasn’t very much in Niall’s favor but he was still kinda happy about it though he knew they’d probably spend another hour at the store now.

He had already taken the kids to get presents for Liam and he knew Liam had done the same two days ago, but he should have expected them to wanna get presents for everybody else as well, so that’s what they did.

Niall didn’t mind too much of course, he loved his children and he loved where he was in life right now and everything going on, things were just stressful once a while but especially right before Christmas. Liam was helping a ton of course, but he worked full time and Niall only half so he could be home once Oliver and Isla got out of kindergarten, so the blonde watched the kids more and did stuff like grocery shopping most of the time. That didn’t mean Liam wasn’t ever stressed though, it was balanced out and it was good the way it was. 

Perfect, actually, and thinking about a few years, Niall would have never been able to even just imagine this life for himself, married with two kids and a house and a dog and helping his children pick out a Christmas present for his brother that he hadn’t even known about for most of his life. Honestly, there was nothing else Niall could have asked for.

 

\-------------

 

“When is daddy coming home?” Sometimes it was confusing when the kids switched between calling either Niall or Liam daddy or papa, but only when they were both present and seeing as Niall was in the kitchen by himself while Oliver was on the floor drawing and Isla was running around wearing her batwoman costume from Halloween (that Niall had never noticed her putting on) and Watson watching her from his sleeping mat, he obviously knew she was referring to Liam.

“In a few minutes, are you hungry?” Dinner wasn’t done yet, but there was no need to mention that. Niall almost dropped his spoon when Isla came over, hugging his legs while making the most dramatic sounds ever.

“Yessss, I’m sooo hungry, I gonna starve.” She had been complaining about that for at least an hour now, Niall had given them both snacks after they had come back home from the store, but that had already been a while ago as well. “I wanna help, papa.”

“Alright, come here, bug.” She was getting heavier, but Niall could still pick them both up just fine, placing Isla on the counter and making sure she was far away from the stove before letting her stir the noodles, standing in front of her so she wouldn’t fall. “Are you excited about tomorrow?”

“Yes! Are we opening presents tomorrow?” When she was asking in her high pitched voice looking all hopeful and whatnot, Niall just wanted to cave in and he knew Liam had even more trouble saying no to their kids, but he stayed strong, kissing her forehead and brushing some hair out of her face.

“We can open one present tomorrow evening when we’re at granny and grandpa’s, okay? But there are only two more sleeps until Christmas morning, that’s not too bad, is it?” Isla definitely looked a bit disappointed, but she agreed and Niall took over the stirring for her again because she seemed to have already grown tired of it, playing with the strings of his hoodie instead. 

“When I grow up I’m gonna open all my presents whenever I want.” She exclaimed and Niall held back a laugh, ruffling her hair instead. 

“You can’t, Isla, you have to wait until your Advent Calendar is empty.” Oliver sounded very serious about this, just speaking to them from the floor while he was still coloring and Niall threw a look back at him, smiling when he noticed that Watson had gone to join the boy, just lying next to him while wagging his tail.

“I’m gonna eat all the chocolates in one day.” Definitely a smart idea, but the blonde didn’t wanna encourage her rebellious thoughts by laughing so he bit the inside of his cheek, trying to concentrate on the food with one arm because he needed the other to keep his daughter from falling off the counter.

“That’s too many, your belly will hurt and then you can’t even open one single present.” Sounded very much like her birthday, when she had eaten three pieces of cake when Niall and Liam hadn’t been watching and it hadn’t ended too well. 

“But I-“

She immediately stopped talking because they could all hear the keys in the door lock and Oliver was up first of course because he had been on the floor, very excitedly running to the door and Niall made sure to lift Isla down so she wouldn’t jump or anything. Liam coming home was definitely the best part of the day, not only because of the excited “Daddy!” squeals from the hallway, but also because having their whole family home together was just Niall’s favorite way to spend the evening.

Niall would have gone with them to greet Liam but he kinda had to watch the food so it wouldn’t burn and besides, the kids were so excited to see him, they were gonna be happy about Liam not sharing his attention, even if just for a little moment. Watson also left after a bit to greet Liam, but he was getting old and usually waited for the brunette to come and pet him.

“Look what I made!” There was no need to turn around to know Oliver was showing Liam every single drawing he had done today and Niall smiled to himself.

“Wow, you did all those?! Is that me on the left?” It was indeed, Niall was kinda impressed by Liam having guessed it because he himself had made their son slightly upset by guessing wrong twice. “And who’s that?”

“That’s Noah and that’s Santa but he’s not real.” Somehow, the twins always needed to add that now whenever anybody mentioned Santa, Niall had gotten quite a weird look at the grocery store before when the lady at the check out had asked the kids if they were excited for Santa and they had simply told her that their daddy bought all the presents. “And that’s Isla eating all my chocolate.”

“Hey, I never did that!” The little girl complained and Niall was about to turn around, but instead he flinched when he unexpectedly felt two arms wrap around him from behind, right before he felt himself put at ease when he breathed Liam in. 

“Kids, can you not fight please?” They weren’t listening to Niall though because they were busy arguing about some drawings and the blonde decided to give up when Liam kissed his cheek, holding him more tightly as Niall turned his head so they could kiss for real, the knot in his stomach that he hadn’t even noticed loosening immediately. “Hmmm, hi.”

“Hi, love. Everything okay?” Liam always made sure to check, not letting go of Niall though but rather kissing down his cheek and neck again before burying his head against the blonde and Niall could only guess that he had had an equally as stressful day. 

“Yeah, everything’s good here… you?” Not like Liam would have told him the truth in front of the kids, but he didn’t sound as if he was lying when he told the blonde that he was fine and just happy to be home. 

“Want me to do the rest?” He always offered and Niall always declined, it kinda was their thing because Liam was still a terrible cook after all those years and the blonde didn’t actually mind at all because he was quite enjoying it.

“No, thanks, I’m almost done. The kids set the table but I’m too afraid to check what it looks like.” Probably like a mess like always, Liam just laughed against Niall’s skin, kissing his temple again before slowly pulling away and the younger man already missed his touch even though he was still right there. “Guess when Louis went out to buy presents.”

“Hm, never?” Close.

“I’m actually not sure if he ever went, but a few hours ago apparently. He asked my mother for advice for a present for Harry.” Not like Harry would mind if he ever found out, he never really seemed to care what he got for any occasion and Louis probably knew that too well or he would have definitely tried harder.

“Should have asked me, I’m a pro at presents. You’re gonna love yours.” One second…

“Babe?!” Fuck, Niall had NOTHING for Liam, they had agreed not to buy anything a month ago!

“What?” Liam looked very amused, reaching past the blonde to get the fork and try the noodles while Niall almost forgot the fact that he was cooking and that the kids were still arguing behind them.

“We agreed we wouldn’t spend anything on each other.” Great, now everything was ruined, Niall would look even more stupid than Louis when he would turn up with a frying pan for Harry like last year. In his defense, they had kinda needed one.

“I didn’t spend anything.” The way Liam winked at the blonde made Niall feel a bit calmer when he realized that Liam wasn’t talking about an ACTUAL present.

“I don’t have anything for you though.” Still, just in case the brunette was just bluffing now, Niall wanted to make sure Liam knew that he at least had stuck to their rule.

“Don’t worry, love, ‘m sure we will find something.” Right, okay, Liam was most definitely not talking about presents anymore and Niall relaxed but he still rolled his eyes. “And you won’t even have to wrap it… I mean, you could though…”

“Can you carry that to the table please?” Niall interrupted his husband’s dirty thoughts by nodding to the plates of food for the kids he had just prepared and Liam just laughed, kissing his cheek before doing what he had been asked, leaving Niall behind feeling slightly flustered.

Dinner was good, the kids were eager to tell Liam about the presents they had gotten for Harry and Louis and their grandparents and it got even better when Liam did all the dishes by himself, half throwing Niall out of the kitchen actually so the blonde went and helped the twins wrapping presents instead. He was more watching because they wanted to do it themselves and they weren’t very advanced but it was fine because no one would mind.

“I’m sure uncle Louis will love a cherry candle.” Liam sounded very amused when he came back from the kitchen and they still weren’t done wrapping, probably because the kids had begged Niall to put on a movie for them and he had given in but only because it was winter break. 

Niall waited for Liam to sit down next to him on the couch and wrap an arm around his shoulders before cuddling up to him and half whispering into his ear. “Then you’re really gonna love what he got you. And everyone else.”

“Good, we could need a few candles.” The older man sounded really happy now, pulling Niall in even closer and kissing the top of his head, making the blonde wanna close his eyes and have a quick nap, but it was almost bedtime for the twins. “When are we leaving tomorrow?”

“At ten… a least that’s what I told you Louis before, we can still change it because he probably forgot anyways.” It was just a really long drive and they probably needed to take 3 or more bathroom breaks. 

“No, ten is good. We already got everything in the car except for those presents and the kids’ backpacks. Right?” Well, Liam had done all of that in the cold yesterday and Niall had felt really bad but he would have just been in the way trying to help. 

“Yeah… did you check if Watson still fits in as well?” It was more of a joke, really, but it did concern Niall just a little bit.

“He can sit in the back with the kids, he’s just gonna lie down between them and _yes_ , I’ll put down a blanket so he won’t get the seats dirty.” Liam was referring to the one time he hadn’t done that and it’s not like Niall had gotten that upset about it, he had just been stressed out back then because it had been shortly after they had adopted the twins and they had never gotten the stains out. “I can make sandwiches tomorrow morning.”

“I already did before, they’re at the top of the fridge.” Out of reach for children, but that was unnecessary to add.

“Anything you didn’t do, Nialler?” Liam joked, suddenly wrapping his second arm around the blonde as well and this time, Niall did close his eyes while resting his head on his husband’s shoulder, just enjoying having him there and barely being able to believe that they both had so many days off now to spend together. “I love you, thanks for doing all that work.”

“I love you too and it’s only fair I do that when you’re the one making all the money.” Well, not all of it but definitely the biggest portion. “The money that I spend.”

“It’s our money and you can spend however much you want.” The brunette shrugged, but only barely because he seemed to remember that Niall’s head was on his shoulder and the blonde felt his stomach grow warm. “Are you tired?”

“Yeah, kinda… or a lot, I don’t even know.” It had been an exhausting day even though Niall hadn’t even gone to work.

Liam just hummed in response, holding the blonde tighter and Niall felt himself drifting off for a little bit. At some point, he did notice one of their children climbing onto Liam’s lap, but he was passed out again a second later so it might have as well been a dream. Niall only woke up for real again when he felt Liam stroking his cheek, his face so close that the younger man could feel his breath against his skin.

“Hey, Ni… you wanna come lie in bed instead?” Niall needed a moment to realize he was lying on the couch and that Liam had put a blanket over him, the kids were gone and the whole room cleaned up, TV turned off. Liam really was the best.

“Hmm, in a second… how late is it?” It kinda felt like Niall had been asleep for ages somehow, he finally managed to sit up after Liam had kissed him on the lips, holding his hands stretched out towards the blonde to help him get up off the couch.

“Like, after 10. The kids have already been asleep for hours.” Bless Liam for getting them ready for bed most of the time, they also switched of course, but the brunette was always quick to volunteer to get them cleaned and read them to sleep. 

“I didn’t say goodnight.” Now Niall felt a bit guilty, he usually made sure to come say goodnight to the twins, especially because of that one time he had fallen asleep as well and then Oliver had been crying. 

“It’s okay, they were really tired because I let them finish the movie so they basically fell right asleep. C’mon.” Niall finally grabbed a hold of Liam’s hands, letting the older man pull him to his feet and immediately wrap an arm around him because the blonde still felt really sleepy. “Want me to carry you?”

“No, I don’t want you to tear a muscle or something.” It was more of a joke, Niall chuckled when he intertwined his fingers with Liam’s, pressing a kiss to the corner of his mouth when the older man pretended to pout.

“I’m not that old, you know. And you’re not that heavy. I carried you up a whole flat of stairs on our honeymoon.” He really had and Niall had been afraid the whole time that he would slip and then he really had almost dropped the blonde because they both hadn’t been able to stop laughing. That was four years in the past though, when Niall had only been 23 and then they had adopted the twins 2 years later at age 2, everything having gone quite quickly but then again, they had been together 3 years before getting married and 5 before having kids and they had both wanted it that way. 

“You had back pains the whole holiday long.” Niall reminded the brunette while turning off all the lights on their way to the stairs, smirking when he saw the brunette rolling his eyes. “What? It’s true.”

“I’m gonna have back pains for the whole next week anyways from carrying all the kids around.” Liam said it as if he minded, but Niall knew that he really didn’t because he always told the blonde he genuinely enjoyed playing with the kids for hours on end if he had time and he was definitely the cool uncle for Noah and his sister’s kids and it was the cutest thing ever. Obviously Niall played with the kids as well, but he saw them more often than Liam, so on weekends, he always thought it was nice if they got to spend some quality time with the brunette. “Six kids and two dogs is a lot, I don’t know what my parents were thinking inviting us all.”

“I think it’s really nice, especially that they would have invited Louis’ whole family as well.” Although Niall was very glad that they had declined.

“I mean, the house is so big we’re all gonna get lost anyways. I hope there’s at _least_ a flat of stairs between our room and everyone else’s.” He just said it like that and Niall needed a second to realize what his husband meant, rolling his eyes when he did while Liam was just chuckling. “The kids will come into our bed anyways, I’m not making myself too many hopes.”

“And don’t forget Watson.” Mostly, Niall said it because they had had a few arguments over Watson sleeping in their bed sometimes and he had tolerated it when they had been younger, but eventually they had agreed that their dog was too big. Plus, he was now sleeping in one of the kids’ rooms most of them time to Niall’s relief. “I’m gonna go check on the kids.”

“Okay, see you in bed. Don’t pass out or anything, you look really tired.” Liam kissed him on the lips, a little bit longer than Niall would have expected, his hand suddenly squeezing the younger’s butt and Niall let him for a moment because he was actually enjoying it, thinking that maybe he wasn’t too tired after all.

After this, Niall only checked briefly on their children, they were both fast asleep and the blonde made sure to tuck them in properly, almost stepping on Watson’s paw as the dog was sleeping on Oliver’s floor, but he made it to bed without disturbing anyone too much, not at all surprised when he found Liam lying in bed shirtless watching TV. Niall brushed his teeth in quite a hurry, just pulling his clothes off afterwards and leaving them on the floor before crawling into bed with Liam, cuddling up against him as his tiredness came back immediately.

Liam did offer Niall to change the channel but the blonde told him it was fine, having fallen asleep probably 10 minutes later.

 

\------------------

 

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen such a big house before.” Louis was exaggerating like always though Niall did kinda agree, but he was also freezing his ass off at the same time as soon as they had gotten out of the car. The drive hadn’t been too bad, the kids had gotten a bit restless but they had actually fallen asleep after a while and Liam along with them after he and Niall had switched seats. “Are you excited, Isla?!”

“I need to pee, daddy.” She was still sleepy and completely ignoring Louis, pulling on Niall’s hand while her brother was asleep in Liam’s arms. This was already starting not too well. 

“In a second, love, okay? Can you hold it for a bit longer?” Niall was definitely slightly afraid, she had peed her pants so many times in public the blonde had honestly lost count. “Look, you wanna say hi to granny?”

They had all just arrived, so Niall walked his daughter over to see the others just getting out of Louis’ and Harry’s car after he had made sure that she wasn’t just gonna pee her pants again. 

“Hi, mom.” Sometimes and though it had been years since all of this had happened, Niall still felt different saying that word to somebody completely different than the first 19 years of his life and it wasn’t a bad feeling at all, it just made Niall think. 

“Hello, love. How are you doing?” The blonde hugged her, letting go of Isla’s hand because she was now being entertained by Harry anyways. 

“Good, we’re good. Just tired from the drive and everything… “ Niall held on a bit longer before letting go, feeling a smile forming on his face as he pulled back to look at his mother again. Obviously they spent a lot of time together and they were all constantly at her house with the kids and it was just all as if it had always been meant to be that way. 

After Niall and Harry had told her that very same day that they had gotten the results of the test, the blonde had definitely cried more than ever before and he had also been hugged for way longer, pretty much the rest of the day and the next one. It had taken time, getting used to all of it and realize that this was reality, that he had a family that actually loved him and though they couldn’t get all those years back, they had done hours of catching up, all three of them and then of course also with Gemma, who had immediately come after hearing the news, and Niall would have thought he’d be more nervous meeting his sister who he had never known of, but things had just fallen in place.

He had also met his real dad, they had taken a trip to London to see him and some more extended family and Liam had come as well after Niall had expressed slight worry. The blonde had spent quite a few nights at his mom’s house, but he had officially lived in Liam’s parents’ house for a few months before they had gotten their own place and then a bigger one after they had both had jobs for a while.

Pretty much the last 7 years of Niall’s life had been more than perfect, more than he could have ever hoped for. And yet an image that the blonde would never get rid of again was standing on the other side of the street, watching police officers walking up to the house he had been calling home for so long and locking eyes with them as they were being escorted to the car, their expressions shocked and yet full of anger towards Niall.

The trial had ended quickly because Maura pretty much confessed immediately, admitted to having been so depressed from having lost her child that she took a baby out of a stroller and after they had realized there was no going back, they had simply taken Niall home. Niall was listening to her confession in court, but he still couldn’t believe hearing it all, feeling her eyes on him when she said that back then, she had thought it was unfair for Niall’s mother to have two babies when she had lost hers. She had been sent to a closed mental facility and Bobby had gone to jail and Niall had never seen either of them again and he also didn’t feel a need to.

He saw Greg once a while, they had had a talk 2 years later, without fighting this time, and he had moved away but he had actually sent presents for the kids this year and Liam had looked pretty close to throwing them in the trash, but they had kept them after all. The brunette had refused to talk to him until Greg had offered him he could punch him in the face for when he had done the same to Niall and the blonde knew that Liam had actually been thinking about it. 

Niall had changed his last name and had had to officially change his birthday on his ID and everything, but luckily he had waited getting his driving license after getting married to Liam or he would have had to go through changing his name _again_. He had taken James as second name though, which had made his mother cry even more and then again when she had coincidentally found out that it was actually Liam’s second name as well.

So she always told them that they had been made for one another and Niall kinda thought that she was right. All of this seemed more like it had been meant to turn out like this, there had just been too many coincidences, and if Niall would have told his 18 year-old-pining-for-Liam-Payne-self now that in 9 years he’d be living like this, he wouldn’t have believed it in his wildest dreams.

“Ni, here, dad sent it to our house.” Harry handed Niall a letter before hugging him as well and though they had just all seen each other two days ago for dinner, the blonde suddenly felt a whole lot better having his mother and brother here. “Did you still not give him your address?”

“I did, he just deleted the text message or something, I-“

“Daddy, I need to peeee!” Okay, well, Niall clearly couldn’t ignore his daughter any longer so he made sure to pick her up, throwing a glance at Harry, who just smirked at him.

“Okay, give grandma a kiss and then we’ll go find a bathroom, yeah?” Niall made sure she didn’t fall out of his arms when she leaned over to kiss his mother, continuing to be whiny though so Niall made sure to carry her towards the house before it’d be too late.

It was all pretty crazy, saying hi to Liam’s parents and his sisters and their families and by the time Niall finally got his daughter to the bathroom, he was pretty sure it had almost been too later. Louis hadn’t been lying outside, the house definitely seemed bigger on the inside now and Niall wasn’t even sure where Liam had gone at this point or anybody else, he could just hear Watson and one of his sister’s dogs barking at something outside. 

“I don’t wanna sleep all alone tonight, it’s scary here.” Well, Niall had to admit it was more like a mansion here and he had almost gotten stressed out upon seeing the tree before remembering that he wasn’t the one who had to decorate it or take it down. Liam’s mother had gotten it so all her grandchildren could help decorate and Niall had to admit that the idea was really sweet and yet he wasn’t sure how that was going to go. The twins weren’t the youngest, Liam’s younger sister had a baby and a son, who was six now, and his other sister had a daughter who was five, like Noah. So yeah, they were definitely not gonna know whose present was whose anymore tomorrow morning. 

Still, it was nice that they were all here of course, Liam’s parents clearly loved all their grandchildren, but they weren’t really the typical grandparents, they travelled a lot and always had stuff going on and though Oliver and Isla loved spending time with them, they were different with Niall’s mother. Then again, it hadn’t really come as a surprise to anyone.

“You and Oliver are sharing a room, are you still scared if he’s there?” Niall was having a bit of a hard time figuring out how the water tap worked. Usually the kids could use the toilet by themselves, but Isla had still demanded help because they had never been here before.

“Yes, I wanna sleep with you.” So there Liam’s plans from last night went, but Niall actually only felt bad for his daughter as he watched her washing her hands, sorting out her hair as he thought about what to say.

“Tell you what, you can sleep with me and daddy if you at least try to sleep on your own, okay? You just need to try and it’s not bedtime for a long time and maybe you’ll like the house by then. And you can decorate the tree with grandma and open a present and play with your cousins, that’s fun, right?” Niall was trying to make it sound appealing as they walked out of the bathroom, immediately being stopped though when his daughter grabbed a hold of his hand again, tugging on it until Niall got down so she could whisper in his ear though no one was around.

“Is granny gonna get mad again if I drop something?” Liam’s mother had a lot of expensive stuff, mostly jewelry that obviously looked pretty good to a four year old and she had gotten a bit upset when Isla had dropped some bracelet and they had had to look for it for over an hour. So yeah.

“No, baby, she wasn’t mad, okay? And she won’t get mad if you drop something, I promise.” What else was Niall supposed to say? They all knew Liam’s parents weren’t the best with kids but that didn’t mean that they didn’t love them of course. “C’mon, let’s see what your room looks like, okay?”

They hadn’t really brought their stuff inside and Niall had no idea where Liam even was or what everyone else was up to, but the house was definitely packed and the blonde was pretty sure he got away with not unpacking their car and carrying presents inside. Instead, he found Liam’s dad, who gave him a very confusing explanation about whose room belonged to who and the blonde had to hold his daughter’s hand pretty tightly for her to not run off because she was getting bored.

Obviously she was allowed to run around and do whatever in here with her cousins, but not while the door was being opened every five seconds and with the woods on one side and the street on the other. Sometimes Niall thought that maybe he was being a bit overprotective of the kids because of everything that had happened but then again, who could have blamed him?

“I’m hungry.” They were now walking along the hallway, almost falling over a dog once and then bumping into Louis, who apparently was just walking around the house and leaving Harry to do the unpacking. Then again, Niall wasn’t helping very much either, however, as it turned out, Liam wasn’t either.

“I’ll get you a sandwich from the car later, yeah?” Niall didn’t really wanna ask Liam’s mother for food for his daughter, especially because everyone seemed really stressed out, so this seemed like a better option. “Look, that’s-… everything okay?”

Upon finally opening the right door, Niall quickly made sure to shut himself up. It was a rather small room considering the size of the house, two beds for the twins and a window in between, but they wouldn’t spend much time in here anyways. What Niall was more worried about was Liam half lying down in of them, their son sleeping soundly on his chest.

“Everything’s fine, I didn’t wanna leave him here to wake up all alone and I don’t wanna wake him.” Niall felt his heart flutter a bit watching Liam and Oliver like this, letting go of his daughter’s hand so she could go and climb on the bed with them also, lying in the crook of Liam’s arm, his other one wrapped around their son. “Do you wanna take over for me and I’ll go get our things from the car? Sorry, I was gonna come find you and-“

“Li, it’s fine. Just stay here, I’ll get our things.” The blonde would have rather died than make Liam get up and risk waking their son when they were all being so cute, so instead he just walked over to kiss his husband on the lips and then Isla’s forehead when she complained about them kissing. “Just don’t fall asleep.”

“I’ll try my best.” Liam smiled, actually looking very sleepy though he had slept in the car as well and Niall made sure to close the door as quietly as possible when he left, still with a pretty dumb smile on his face.

 

\--------------------

 

“Did Louis tell you what present he got me? He’s making a real big deal out of it.” Somehow, this made the blonde nervous.

“No, he didn’t tell me anything, but I also didn’t ask. What did you get him?” Probably the best gift ever, Harry was really good with that and so was Liam, which was why Niall was relieved about their no gift rules, however, he still wasn’t exactly sure what Liam had been talking about last night.

“It’s a surprise.” Harry smirked and Niall rolled his eyes at his brother, watching Liam playing with Isla and his sister’s kids across the living room. “I used to think they would never get along.”

“Huh?” Niall needed a moment to realize what Harry had been talking about, but he was referring to their mother talking to Liam’s and helping her decorate the tree because the kids had gotten bored after 10 minutes. “Yeah… me too. I remember I was so nervous back then when they met the first time after it all came out, but I guess mom gets along with everyone.”

“She really does though…. look at that.” For a moment, Niall had yet again no idea what Harry was talking about because the room was so packed. Pretty much everyone had come hang out in the living room after eating, which had been a complete mess and yet it had somehow passed without anybody breaking anything or getting the table cloth too dirty. But it had gone all over their clothes instead. “They’re so cute.”

“I hope they’re not talking about Santa.” The blonde couldn’t help voicing his worries when he spotted their sons petting the dogs together, clearly talking about SOMETHING, but no one was crying yet so that was good.

“What do you mean?” Harry let out a laugh, clearly confused and Niall sighed, rolled his head around on the back of the couch to look at his brother. 

“They found out Santa isn’t real and Isla went around telling all her friends and I had two conversations with their mothers about it, it wasn’t that fun. But they keep going on about Noah believing in Santa and I made them promise that they wouldn’t say anything, but… “ But Niall couldn’t promise anything, he tried to smile at his brother and act innocent, but Harry did actually look a bit scared now. “Funny though that these are the kinda problems we talk about now, right?”

“He’s literally gonna cry the whole break long if they tell him that, he’s sensitive.” Right, Harry had completely ignored Niall’s attempt to lighten the mood and now the blonde felt guilty again. 

“They won’t say anything, and besides, doesn’t mean he’d believe it, right?” Then again, apparently they had a good way of convincing people because they had made their friends cry as well. “This makes me feel like I kinda failed as a parent.”

“Don’t be so dramatic, Nialler, they would have had to find out anyways. Plus, at least now you can spare yourself all the secrecy and just straight out let them pick their own presents. Although you probably don’t have to because mom outdid herself again this year.” She really had, she had gotten each grandchild like 5 presents and Niall and Harry had tried talking her out of it but no chance. 

“Liam’s mother always gets them Gucci clothes, so… “ And they looked really cute on them so what was Niall going to say? “They’re so spoiled.”

“But they always say thank you a hundred times whenever they come over and they’re well behaved so it’s fine and it means you didn’t fail your job.” Harry petted Niall’s arm, making him feel a little bit stupid for a moment, but that only lasted a second before his brother continued. “I’ll still kill you if they ruin Christmas for Noah.”

“They won’t.” Niall rolled his eyes, thinking about getting up but then he decided to stay, just because he was really exhausted from so much noise pretty much the whole day long after that terribly long drive. 

He was still enjoying all of this of course, they had spent Christmas with Harry and Louis before and also with Liam’s parents, but never all of them together literally in the same house, plus Liam’s sisters’ families. To think that at one point in his life Niall had felt like he basically had no family at all to going to having such a big one was still a bit overwhelming to think about, even if it sometimes got a bit stressful and crowded like right now. He wouldn’t have wanted it any other way though of course. 

Harry got up after a while to go and chat with somebody else and Niall remained on the couch by himself for a few minutes, just content watching Liam lying on the floor playing with dolls, sometimes throwing a look at the blonde just to wink at him. Niall actually thought about going over when his mother came to join him, bringing him some Christmas cookies.

“You look like you’re thinking about going to bed.” Was the first thing she noted and it was kinda true, but then again, not really. 

“I’m fine, don’t worry.” Niall made sure to smile at her before eating the cookies before any child in the room would spot them and come asking to have some. “I don’t know how Liam still has all that energy after today.”

Niall’s mother clearly followed his stare for a moment, not speaking up immediately and they instead watched him tickling Isla, probably laughing as much as she was. Fuck, Niall was so in love with him, it was like falling for him over again every single day, harder than the day before. “I’m so happy you have him and I’m so proud of both of you for handling everything like it’s nothing. He really is everything a mother could wish for her son.”

“What about Louis?” Niall couldn’t help but throw in a little smirk because heart to hearts with his mother usually made him cry and he really didn’t wanna cry in front of everyone today.

“Oh, come on, Niall, you know I love Louis. Don’t you dare tell him what I said and make it look like I prefer Liam.” She was joking though and the blonde laughed while at the same time feeling his stomach filling with warmth. “It’s just different. Liam’s always been there for you all these years ago and I’m just so happy that you have him by your side.”

“Me too… “ Again, Niall felt a bit on the emotional side and he shared a smile with his mother but she had probably already figured out what he was thinking because she kinda did him a favor with her answer though it definitely made Niall blush like crazy.

“I just think it’s so cute that you had a crush on him for so long.” Yeah, Niall shouldn’t have been embarrassed maybe since he was literally _married_ to Liam, but he still was somehow, rolling his eyes at his mother because she was definitely teasing him now.

“I regret telling you that.” He had done it years ago, because he had basically told her everything, mostly because they hadn’t really known each other of course, but also a bit because he had never had a mother or a parent to tell things to and it had been really nice, even if a little late. “And it was only for 2 years.”

“That’s kinda long, you’ve been a dad for two years as well.” True, it most definitely felt longer than that though. They hadn’t planned on getting two kids at once, but when they had gone there with literally no plan, they had been told that the twins would get separated and then they had spent time with them and… it had just felt right and Niall had never regretted that decision and neither had Liam. Their lives had changed over night pretty much, but it had been one of the best changes and when the kids had started calling them daddy and papa and whatnot, Niall had thought his heart could have burst with happiness. 

“Liam still teases me about that stupid crush as well as if he didn’t marry me.” It was true, and once a while, when they were joking and teasing, Liam would make a joke about having dated Harry in the past before laughing so much over Niall’s annoyed face that he sometimes started crying. Some things just never changed. “By the way, how’s your boyfriend doing?”

“Oh, Niall, stop with that.” It was Niall’s turn to make HER blush now, because she did have a boyfriend kind of and Niall just laughed when she rolled her eyes at him, making him feel a little bit like a teenager. “You’re impossible.”

Niall was still chuckling when Oliver came over, not hesitating before climbing on the blonde’s lap and Niall helped him so he wouldn’t fall, leaning down a bit when the little boy was trying to whisper into his ear. “I dropped something from the Christmas tree but it was an accident.”

Slightly concerned for a moment, Niall looked over to the tree just to see Liam’s mother clearly collecting some broken ornament and the blonde would have gone over to help but she was already done, not looking too upset. It might have as well been one of the dogs. “It’s okay, bean, it was just an accident.”

“Okay.” He didn’t climb off of Niall’s lap though, instead just got more comfortable and Niall wrapped his arms around him, kissing his face until the boy was laughing and squirming a bit. God, how had Niall gotten the cutest kids on the planet? “When are we gonna open the presents?”

“I don’t know, babe… you’ll get to open one before bedtime and the others in the morning, remember?” No idea how often Niall had explained this, probably a hundred times and the kids still tried to get him to change his mind.

“Can I give grandma the present I have for her?” Oliver was referring to Niall’s mother now because she was still sitting right there, smiling at the boy. “It’s the best present ever, granny.”

“I’m sure it is, sweetheart.” Niall’s mother was so good at showing excitement whenever the kids got her anything at all, so they always made her like 10 drawings whenever they went to her house and she did genuinely put them up somewhere. “Are you having fun playing with your cousins?”

“Yes, but I don’t wanna play now because I’m tired.” He had only woken up shortly before they had eaten and then he had been full of energy for a while. Niall couldn’t let him take a nap though because otherwise they’d be up the whole night long and it was only 4 pm or something. 

The blonde made sure to keep his son entertained so he wouldn’t nod off or anything, going to get something to drink with him after a while and then taking a look around the house. Isla still thought the house was creepy, but Oliver seemed very excited to explore and Niall needed to move a little bit anyways or he would have fallen asleep right along with his son. Plus, it was also kinda nice for his ears to get a break.

When they went back to the living room, Liam was on the couch next to his sister, rocking her baby as it was sleeping on his chest and Niall didn’t know what it was, but his husband kinda had a talent making children fall asleep on him. Then again, maybe Niall did know what it was and also, he suddenly really wanted a baby with Liam.

Obviously Niall didn’t say that, he just went to cuddle with Liam for a bit because they hadn’t really spent a lot of time together today, being so busy talking to everyone in their family. They let all the kids open one present before bedtime, which maybe hadn’t been the best idea because then they wanted to stay up longer and play some more and eventually it ended with somebody getting hurt because they were all tired. But what would have Christmas been without anybody crying from being over-exhausted, right?

 

\------------------------------

 

“So… “ Niall started once he finally had Liam to himself after they had brought the kids to bed, promising that they were just down the hallway and that they could come to them anytime if they got scared. It had made Niall feel a little guilty tucking them into bed with Liam just to hear a “I love you too, daddy, but what if there are ghosts?!”, but he was praying that they wouldn’t come to their room in the next hour or two.

“So?” Liam asked, sounding genuinely confused for a moment before he turned around after going through his bag, looking at Niall where he was sitting on the bed. 

“Where’s my present?” The blonde couldn’t help it, he had been thinking about it all evening because he was pretty sure he knew what Liam’s ‘present’ was and that he probably didn’t have to feel guilty for not having anything for the brunette.

“Oh, suddenly you don’t mind that I broke the rules anymore, yeah?” He laughed as he came over, running his fingers through his hair and Niall felt himself getting a bit hot. “It’s not Christmas Day though, it’s only 9 pm.”

“Everyone got to open a present earlier.” That was a great argument Niall felt like, it made Liam laugh when he sat down next to the blonde, wrapping his arms around him tightly before letting himself fall back slowly and pulling Niall with him. 

“Only the kids. But I think maybe I can make an exception for you because I love you so much.” He pressed his lips against Niall’s cheek and the blonde felt himself smile, moving a bit in Liam’s arms until he could turn his head enough so that they could kiss for real because it felt like they hadn’t for a few hours. Which was probably true, actually. “Do you want your present now?”

“Yeah… but before that I gotta say something.” Niall wasn’t sure why he had just thought about it again, but lying so close to Liam with their lips still almost touching, noses brushing, kinda made him get crazy thoughts.

“Hm?” Liam was running his fingers through Niall’s hair, pulling gently at it in the nap of Niall’s neck and the blonde felt a shudder going through his body.

“When you were holding your sister’s baby today… I really wanted us to have a baby too.” Right, maybe Niall shouldn’t have just brought it up like that, he just basically blurted out with it like he had before they had adopted the twins. To be fair though, they had at least had multiple conversations about it back then.

“Yeah?” The brunette asked after some hesitation, stroking Niall’s cheek with the back of his fingers and the blonde let his eyes fall closed, breathing Liam in. 

“Yeah… “ Niall would have actually never thought that they’d have two kids so soon or that he would want yet another child so quickly after that but… he really did, he just loved seeing Liam with the kids so much and just having their own not that small family was maybe the best thing in the entire world. “I mean, obviously not right _now_ , but… would you want a third child?”

“Hmm, I think I do, yeah. I haven’t thought about it that much, because I kinda expected us to get a lot more stressed out with twins, but… I think it’s because you’re doing so much work and because you’re so amazing with them that it seems so easy.” Liam was the absolute sweetest, he said it with so much sincerity and fondness that the blonde felt his heart speeding up. 

“We do the same amount of work and you’re literally the best dad ever, so… “ He was, Niall made sure to kiss his husband quickly before he could try and complain and then kissing him some more after taking a short break just because he could. “I love you so much.”

“I love you too, baby… how about I show you your present now and then we can talk some more about babies?” The fact that Liam seemed to be so on board with the idea made Niall’s heart flatter with excitement and he agreed immediately, only letting the brunette sit up though after kissing him some more.

Liam actually got off the bed and went through his bag again while Niall was just watching him from behind, feeling really excited somehow but once again guilty when Liam returned with an actual present for him. “Wait, you got me an actual present? I thought you said you didn’t spend any money.”

“I didn’t, I already told you. Here, open it.” The brunette laughed when he handed it to Niall, sitting down next to him once more. “It’s kinda random, but I think you’ll like it.”

“I genuinely thought my present was your cock.” Niall blurted out while inspecting the present for a second before starting to rip the paper as Liam kissed his cheek.

“You can have that later.” He promised, sending goosebumps all over Niall’s skin. 

The blonde was slightly confused when he opened the present and just found a black hoodie, which was fine of course, but it didn’t really make sense. Plus, it was definitely used. “Wha-“

“Turn it around.” Liam instructed and the blonde did as he had been told, his eyes immediately going wide when he realized what he was holding in his hands. It was Liam’s old football hoodie, with his number and last name on, the one Niall had always loved to wear and had always secretly wished he could have worn out in public. He never had been able to though, also not after they had dated openly because they had been unable to find it.

“How the hell did you find that after 8 years?!” Niall was definitely happy and really surprised as well, plus, he hadn’t really grown that much and Liam had always been a bit bigger than him anyways, so… and Payne was literally his own last name now. 

“Harry had it all those years, at your mother’s house. It was in my locker the day my mom found out about us at the hospital and I couldn’t get my things, remember? And Harry brought me my phone but he forgot my hoodie in the car and then he just kept it and forgot to ever give it back to me. He called me two weeks ago or something when he was going through his old stuff and found it, so we actually gotta thank him for that. But hey, now you can finally wear it, right?” Liam seemed really excited about it and the blonde felt the same, almost getting a bit emotional. “Unless you think it kinda lost its appeal.”

“Why would I think that?” The hoodie smelled like Liam’s cologne, but the one he was using right now and he had probably sprayed it on there which made Niall smile, deciding not to comment on it though. 

“’cos it’s your own last name now, it won’t rub it into people’s faces anymore that you’re mine.” It was official, Liam was the cutest man alive.

“I think the ring is kinda taking care of that, Li. And everyone knows I’ve never played football in my entire life, so… thank you so much.” Leaning over to kiss him, Niall felt butterflies in his stomach when their lips met even after all those years.

Niall didn’t really get the chance to put on the hoodie that night because they were busier with other things a short while later and though they probably had the shortest night ever when both kids came into their bed and then woke up again at 6 in the morning wanting to open their presents, Niall was certain he had never been happier in his life. 

He had everything he wanted and everything he had never thought he would have and no matter what had happened in the past, all of it had led to this right here and how could Niall have ever wanted anything else?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> its done! thank you all sooo much for all your lovely words and just for talking to me and reading my fics and leaving kudos and for being so sweet! im going to probably take a short break now (not too long, but as i usually do), and if you want, you are always welcome to leave me suggestions for future fics down below :)
> 
> i hope you enjoyed this ending, i chose the time jump because i wanted to show niall with every character alone (so liam, harry, louis, his mom and his kids) as a way to round it off and i really enjoyed writing this chapter and i hope you liked it as well and i would love to hear your thoughts!
> 
> my apologies to NiamFan412 for not including niall and harry telling their mom the news, i hope you can forgive me :p
> 
> have a great weekend everyone <3


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